Holger Rune parted ways with Patrick Mouratoglou earlier this year, and for the final stretch of 2024, the Danish number one hired a new coach.
The young Dane has had an interesting season in the sense that while he has won many matches, it didn't look like a very impressive season otherwise. While he started last year on a high note and ended it on a sour note, this year has been more balanced.
He's never hit the peak he had earlier last year, but he was never as bad as he was in the second part of last year. As tennis is a sport based on consistency, he will likely take that, but Rune doesn't just want to be consistent; he wants to be one of the best, and he hasn't been that this year.
To try and get there, Rune let go of Patrick Mouratoglou once more, and after the split, the Dane will work with Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh, who has worked with a few successful players in the past, such as Angelique Kerber, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, and Andrea Petkovic.
The 21-year-old made the announcement in a statement published on the Danish tv2.dk, in which he explained his decision to work with 'Benny', as he called him.
"During the Hangzhou Open and the upcoming tournaments in Asia, I have Benjamin ‘Benny’ Ebrahimzadeh with me as a coach."
"After a hectic period since Wimbledon with an extra six weeks in the USA in addition to what was originally planned, Kenneth Carlsen is in Denmark and taking time off. If you want to stay sharp as a coach, you will have to take time off."
Rune further explained that he's already held practice sessions with the coach and enjoyed them, which is why he decided to keep working with him. Rune's goal is simple: He wants to finish the season on a high note, as opposed to last year.
"I trained with Benjamin in Monaco prior to my visit to Denmark. It has been some good training, where we have purposefully worked on some of the areas in my game where I have had my challenges in recent months."
"Now I’m looking forward to getting into battle and testing the things I’ve been working on. I am optimistic and believe that I can end the year well and hope that a strong final sprint will be enough to make it to the season finale in Turin."
His goal is to reach the ATP Finals in Turin, which will be difficult because he is currently only 16th in the ATP Race to Turin. He has 2,185 points, over 1,000 less than Alex de Minaur, who currently occupies the number 8 spot with 3,305 points.
What is clear, though, is that it will be a very tight race, and Rune will need to be much better than he's been so far this year. He will start his partnership with Ebrahimzadeh at the 2024 Hangzhou Open, where he will be one of the top favorites.
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