Novak Djokovic will have a tough test in his opening match at the ATP Finals as he comes up against debutant Holger Rune. While some players could be intimidated by facing the six-time champion on their debut at the tournament, Alex Corretja isn’t writing off the “fearless” 20-year-old. And he labelled Rune’s link-up with new coach Boris Becker an “absolute bomb” combination.
After winning a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals crown last year, Djokovic is back in Turin as the top seed, bidding to lift the title again so he can stand alone as a seven-time champion. But he won’t have it easy in his first match of the round-robin group stage as he comes up against eighth seed Rune.
The 20-year-old has qualified for the season-ending championships for the first time and he has a 2-2 lifetime record against Djokovic, including a recent defeat to the world No 1 at last week’s Paris Masters. It means that Rune will be hungrier than ever to exact revenge and regain his winning record against Djokovic when they meet in Turin on Sunday.
Rune’s new coach Boris Becker will also want to help the world No 10 defeat his former charge. The pair started working together last month and retired tennis pro Alex Corretja believes that their partnership can lead to something special. “You know why? Because Holger feels like a big star,” the Spaniard told Eurosport, explaining why they could achieve success together.
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“I think you need to have someone next to you that gives you the feeling that he knows what you feel. And Boris Becker, for sure, he feels that way, too. I mean, he was a superstar. He’s still a superstar.” Becker previously coached Djokovic from late 2013 to late 2016 but any insight he had wasn’t enough to help Rune beat the 24-time Major champion in Paris.
However, Corretja still believes they make an “absolute bomb” team and can do some damage at the ATP Finals. He continued: “The start of the relationship has been great. It’s been great because you don’t need to win right away, like every match you play.
“I think it’s good when you lose one of the matches also to understand that the process needs a little bit of time and the ideas and the mentality that he’s trying to bring will need a little bit of time to assimilate. This is the best. When it takes a little bit of time, it costs you and you appreciate it more. So I think the Rune-Becker combination, it’s an absolute bomb and it’s absolutely great for both of them.”
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While the former world No 2 thought Becker was the perfect coach for Rune, he also knew that the 20-year-old was a dangerous prospect in his own right and wouldn’t “care” about coming up against Djokovic at the year-end championships. “Don’t underestimate Holger because he’s fearless,” Corretja added.
“He doesn’t care about playing Djokovic in the first round. He’s going to go there thinking that he can do well. That doesn’t mean that he’s going to win the tournament, but that means that he’s got so much confidence in himself.”
Elsewhere in the Green Group, Jannik Sinner defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 in what was his first match as an outright qualified player at the ATP Finals. The world No 4 appeared at the tournament as an alternate back in 2021 but got in off his own back for the first time next year. In the Red Group, Carlos Alcaraz will face Alexander Zverev on Monday while compatriots Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev clash.
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