Coach Patrick Mouratoglou felt Holger Rune did something “special” by beating Novak Djokovic in a Paris Masters final. In his first Masters final, 19-year-old Rune recovered from a set down to beat Djokovic 3-6 6-3 7-5.
“To play Novak in a final of a tournament is the greatest challenge possible. Holger’s been able to find answers most of the time. That’s why he ended up winning. But I don’t think you can teach anyone to win versus Novak.
You have to have something special,” Mouratoglou said, per Mario Boccardi.
Patrick Mouratoglou: “To play Novak in a final of a tournament is the greatest challenge possible. Holger’s been able to find answers most of the time.
That’s why he ended up winning. But I don’t think you can teach anyone to win vs Novak. You have to have something special” pic.twitter.com/HXiZNKNkEf — Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) November 6, 2022
Rune, 19, started this season ranked just outside the top-100.
11 months later, Rune is a Masters champion and enjoying a career-high ranking of No 10 in the world. Against Djokovic, Rune showed astonishing fighting spirit and didn’t quit after the Serb went up by a set and had three consecutive break points in the first game of the second set.
Now, Mouratoglou reveals it’s Rune mindset that allowed him to make such a rapid rise. “When I met him, Holger wasn’t that impressive with his game. No big shot. But he had already his state of mind, what defines him more I think.
The tennis, he built it. You build your tennis with your mindset. He believes in it 100%. It’s hard to be stable when you don’t have a clear vision of your game identity. It helped him to further and quicker. He already had the basic qualities in January.
But now he knows what game he plays – even if there’s a room from improvement,” Mouratoglou explained, per Tennis Majors.
Mouratoglou (in French, press conf) : “When I met him, Holger wasn’t that impressive with his game.
No big shot. But he had already his state of mind, what defines him more I think. The tennis, he built it. You build your tennis with your mindset. He believes in it 100%.” — Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) November 6, 2022
It’s hard to be stable when you don’t have clear vision of your game identity.
It helped him to further and quicker. He already had the basic qualities in January. But now he knows what game he plays – even if there’s a room from improvement.” [2/2] — Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) November 6, 2022
Mouratoglou: Rune still has a room for improvement
Six years ago, a 13-year-old went to the Mouratoglou Academy and that was when Rune and Mouratoglou met for the first time.
On October 12, Mouratoglou announced he would be working with Rune until the end of the 2022 season. “In tennis in 2022, you can’t have a weakness anymore. Any weakness, you pay it. We teach young players every type of shot, because it’s needed today, but we don’t forget that you win trophies with your best shots,” Mouratoglou explained.
Mouratoglou in French (press conf) : “In tennis in 2022, you can’t have a weakness anymore. Any weakness, you pay it. We teach young players every type of shot, because it’s needed today, but we don’t forget that you win trophies with your best shots.”
#RolexParisMasters — Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) November 6, 2022
Mouratoglou, who is Simona Halep’s full-time coach, accepted to coach Rune while the Romanian is sidelined. “Holger still has a huge margin for progression.
He is No10, that’s great, but it’s not his goal. Today he peaked. We have to increase his average level, and work to lead him to peak even higher,” Mouratoglou added.
Mouratoglou (in French, press conf) : “Holger still has a huge margin for progression.
He is No10, that’s great, but it’s not his goal. Today he peaked. We have to increase his average level, and work to lead him to peak even higher.” #RolexParisMasters — Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) November 6, 2022
Rune will now go to Turin, where he will be the first alternate.
