Holger Rune recently shared his opinions regarding Novak Djokovic defeating young players in this year’s Grand Slam tournaments.
Since he hired Boris Becker as his coach in September of last year, the Dane has been in outstanding form. But according to the 20-year-old, he and other players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz need to break world No. 1 Djokovic’s dominance of the ATP tour.
Rune discussed his thoughts on whether the advancing group would be able to overtake Djokovic soon in an interview. He maintained that he experienced cramps during their first-ever meeting at the 2021 US Open since matching the Serb shot-for-shot in five sets was an extremely tough challenge.
It just so happened that Alcaraz had tightened up during his semifinal match against Djokovic at the French Open last year, losing in four sets.
Rune expressed his thoughts recently and said: “I also cramped the first time I played Novak, so I can relate to that. It’s not abnormal. We’ve got to step up. We’ve got to do it more than once. Sinner beat him, but he is still winning three out of four Grand Slams, and maybe he almost won Wimbledon also.”
Rune went on to say that his generation is not yet prepared to replace Djokovic at the top of the game.
He added: “So we’re not there yet. We need to be there and do everything we can to get him out of there. I know it’s going to take a lot of work, and I’ve been doing my work in the pre-season so far and have been willing to improve.”
Holger Rune in 2024
LWLWLWWLWW Ranked no.8, Rune played his last encounter on the 7th of January when he lost to world no.14 Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(5) 6-4 in the final in Brisbane (draw).
Until now, during this year Rune owns a 4-1 match record. Holger Rune’s latest run in Brisbane was the best achievement of his season.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
LWWWLWWWWW Currently the world no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 18th of November 2023 when he surrendered to world no.1 Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This year Alcaraz has a composed 65-12 win-loss record.
Alcaraz will play next at the Australian Open (Australian Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 14th of January.
Holger Rune and Carlos Alcaraz faced off 3 times. Their actual record is 2-1 for Alcaraz. The last time they fought against each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4 in the quarter in London (Wimbledon) in July 2023.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
Novak Djokovic in 2024
LWLWWWLWLW Currently the world no.1, Novak played his last match on the 3rd of January when he capitulated to world no.12 Alex De Minaur 6-4 6-4 in the quarter in Australia (draw).
During this season Djokovic has a 2-1 match record.
Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |
