Joy with the new coach: Under Boris Becker’s aegis, Holger Rune is finding his way back to his old form.
Keystone
The top seeded Dane Holger Rune is in the semi-finals at the Swiss Indoors. In the first tournament with coach Boris Becker he achieved this for the first time since June.
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Holger Rune is in the semi-finals at the Swiss Indoors. It is the first time since last June that the world number six has reached a semi-final of an ATP tournament. It is the Dane’s first tournament with tennis legend Boris Becker at his side as a coach.
Is it some kind of Becker magic? Or just luck at the right moment? The fact is that Holger Rune is in the semi-finals of an ATP tournament for the first time since the Wimbledon preparation tournament at the Queen’s Club in London. The 20-year-old Dane, who loves such performances anyway, couldn’t have made it more dramatic. It took the world number 6 2:42 hours before she defeated the unseeded but tough Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ATP 32) 8:6 in the tiebreak of the third set.
One win in seven tournaments
At Wimbledon, Rune reached the quarterfinals with respectability (and lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz), then won just one game in seven tournaments. In Basel he was under special pressure as last year’s finalist and in the fight for one of the last three places at the ATP Finals – and so far he has not delivered brilliantly, but impeccably fighting. Coincidence or not, he is doing this in his first tournament under the wing of German legend Boris Becker.
On a break point late in the third set, Rune showed what he has already learned from the three-time Wimbledon champion. He fended off Etcheverry’s small match point with a brilliant, deep volley. “I wanted to stay relaxed and not be afraid to attack,” said the Scandinavian, relieved afterwards.
Never been so lucky
“It was super difficult today,” he admitted. “But it was a fun match. I’ve probably never been so lucky in a game. I’m really sorry for Tomas.” But he is happy with the level of his game.
In the semi-finals there will be revenge for last year’s final against his then conqueror Félix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian played longer than Rune, fended off a match point against Russian qualifier Alexander Shevchenko and only prevailed well after midnight. He should clearly feel the strain on Saturday afternoon.
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2023-10-28 07:00:00
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