It almost seemed as if Boris Becker was about to go back on the court at the ATP Finals in Turin and play a tennis match. The last minutes were running before the players’ so-called “walk-on-court”. Becker, who has been training the up-and-coming Dane Holger Rune for a few weeks, paced nervously around the catacombs in the Pala Alpitour. He repeatedly gave the 20-year-old short instructions. Becker blew heavily several times. Then the game started for him too.
The player box is located on the long side of the pitch in Turin. Becker sat in the front row. He had pulled up the sleeves of his black and white track jacket. Shortly before the start of the match, he was the only one from Team Rune to stand up and clap his player. The Dane lost a thrilling game against Jannik Sinner in three sets 2:6, 7:5 and 4:6 on Thursday evening.
