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In Vienna, German tennis legend Boris Becker spoke about his new job as coach of Holger Rune, the “Big 3” and the expiration date of his ex-protégé Novak Djoković. “He keeps winning.”
It was a short interview marathon that Boris Becker did on Tuesday in Vienna as part of the Erste Bank Open: appearing as a speaker at the “Fifteen Seconds Sports” networking event, then to the press conference, and finally a talk with Thomas Muster. “Hopefully I’ll be in the hall in Basel at 4 p.m.,” said Becker and immediately discussed his new coaching engagement with Holger Rune.
The Dane is playing his first round game at the parallel tournament in Switzerland on Tuesday evening, which is why his coach was in a particular hurry. Rune and Becker recently agreed to work together after a week of training together in Monte Carlo. The 20-year-old is considered highly talented and is number six in the world, but he has suffered first-round defeats in recent months.
Now Becker should help with all his experience. “Holger is currently experiencing a challenging time. But it’s precisely in a phase like this that a player is very open and you can really make a difference,” explained the 55-year-old, who is passionate about his job. “I will correct the forehand, design the training, come up with a match strategy. Tennis is still my great passion, my love.”
wealth of experience
Becker knows what it takes to win big titles. As a 17-year-old, he became the youngest player to date to triumph at Wimbledon in 1985. 49 titles decorate his CV. “Bomm-Bomm-Boris” led the world rankings for twelve weeks. It is obvious that Becker was one of the mentally strongest players of his time. “But what is mental strength anyway?” Becker asked on Tuesday. Punches and physicality are the basic requirements. “You have to be there so that the question of attitude and mentality even comes up.” Only those who have played in major finals and know victory and defeat know how a player feels, what he needs and when. “I have experienced these situations as a player and as a coach.”
Becker was Novak Djoković’s coach for three years. They parted ways in 2016 after six Grand Slam successes together. Today the Serb still leads the world rankings and is now the sole record holder with 24 major triumphs. Does Djoković have an expiration date? “There is competition,” says Becker. “If you let him, Novak will win ten more Grand Slams. He doesn’t stop winning on his own.”
No matter how well the current generation around Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner or Holger Rune develops: the tennis world will never experience an era like that of the “Big 3” with Djoković, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer again, believes Becker. “For three players to win 20 or more Grand Slams is extraordinary. They have triggered a boom the likes of which tennis has never experienced before, even though there were Borg, McEnroe, Sampras and Agassi before.”
2023-10-24 14:06:25
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