Holger Rune played a pretty solid Australian Open, but it also showed that he has a lot to improve if he wants to be competitive at Grand Slams.
The Dane recently admitted that his goal for the 2024 season is to win a Grand Slam, but he didn't quite back up the words at the year's first Grand Slam. He cruised in the first round against Yoshihito Nishioka but lost in the second round of the competition to a French wild card.
Arthur Cazaux stepped up and bested Rune in a pretty impressive fashion, which signaled quite a few things to his coach, Boris Becker.
The German has been working with Rune for a while after taking over in the final months of last year, and he's already changed a few things in his game. One thing that they're still working on is Rune's mental side, which he singled out once more after the Dane crashed out in Melbourne.
"Losing the first set in the tie-break and then losing your very first service game in the second set, those are the moments he has to improve mentally."
Overall, though, Becker, who spoke to Eurosport, was pretty happy with Rune as a player because he's got a lot of great things in his game. It's about finding the best way to utilize his weapons, which will happen naturally as he matures but can also be taught. Tennis is far all pretty tactical.
"He’s got a very quick arm, he’s got a lot of firepower, he’s got a lot of inspiration on the court, but at the same time that’s the problem. It’s knowing when to do what. So talking about tactics, when to accelerate, when to take chances and when you play defensively, it’s always a fine line when to do what."
The German wasn't in Australia with Rune, which might have impacted the player. If he had been there, he could have coached him a bit better, but in the end, the player is on the court alone and has to figure it out.
"He needs to use the heavy topspin a bit more. Now and then it’s a bit flat or he hits a half-volley from the baseline, which on good days is a trick shot and on bad days you hit it with the frame out. So the average needs to be a little higher and I would want him to play with a heavier topspin."
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