Holger Rune completed one of the most remarkable feats in ATP history when he shockingly won the Paris Masters last autumn.
Rune, who was 19 last year, defeated five Top 10 players en route to the title. After saving three match points in his opening win against Stan Wawrinka, who bizarrely told him to stop acting like a "baby", he took down Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz, and six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the title match.
The win capped a memorable week for Rune who admitted to having his "heart in his brain" when he served for the championship, fending off six break points against the greatest returner in tennis. The victory made him just the second teenager to win the Paris Masters since Boris Becker achieved that milestone in 1986.
Incidentally, Rune appointed Becker to take over as his right-hand man until the end of the season. Ahead of his title defense, the past and current champions of the Paris Masters will be joining forces in Bercy. They're the only duo to have won this prestigious event as teenagers.
Rune has been a Top 10 mainstay since he punched above his weight 12 months ago. But he arrives at this year's tournament with a lot of uncertainty about his game, even though six-time Grand Slam winner Becker has made his intent visible in the early days of their partnership.
After a run of one win in his last 11 matches, Rune managed to get his season back on track in Basel, tallying back-to-back wins for the first time since Wimbledon. However, a crushing semifinal loss to eventual champion Felix Auger-Aliassime left him raging and complaining to the chair umpire about the bad treatment he received from the ATP physios.
Rune will look to shake off that disappointment in Paris where he awaits the winner of the match between Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem, as a second-round opponent.
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