"Why not?" - Patrick Mouratoglou sees Rune at number one
ATP
Patrick Mouratoglou thinks that Holger Rune could become the World No. 1 player after seeing his most recent rise.
The 2022 season was a season of youngsters on the ATP Tour. Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to become the World No. 1, and Holger Rune also shone bright, winning the 2022 Paris Masters.
Rune's success wasn't limited to the one run in the French capital, either. His first big run came when he won the ATP Challenger event in San Remo in April. Less than a month later, he won the Munich Open, and the young Dane also made it to the quarter-finals of the French Open.
But probably the best run that Rune had came at the end of the season. He reached the Sofia Open final, won the Stockholm Open, and reached the Swiss Indoors final, before winning in Paris.
Mouratoglou, who is one of the best tennis coaches in the world, recently spoke to Eurosport, and admitted that he could see Rune reaching the World No. 1 rank.
"I think everything is realistic. I think if you set limits for yourself, you're not going to get past them anyway, so he's absolutely right to set high goals for himself. It works for him."
"There is no shame in having great ambitions. Holger aims high all the time, but that's also why he is capable of doing great things. He doesn't necessarily set many limits for himself, and if he fulfils his goals, that's great."
"If he doesn't make it, that's okay. He'll put it off for six months, a year, two years, three years, as long as it takes for him to get there. I think that depending on your personality, you can experience ambitions as a pressure or, on the contrary, as something that will motivate you enormously. He's someone who likes a challenge, Holger, so I think it makes him feel good."
Mouratoglou also spoke specifically about Rune's chances of reaching the top rank on the ATP Tour. According to the experienced French coach, the young Dane would need to play how he played in Paris during the entire season.
"World No. 1 next year, is that realistic? Why not. When you can do what he did, anything is possible. Now, it's going to require him to be able to perform like he did in Bercy [at the Paris Masters], all year long, and especially in the Grand Slams and in the Masters 1000, where it counts the most."
"So it's not going to be easy, obviously, but if it were easy to be the best in the world, we'd know already. Is that realistic? It's not unrealistic. It will be extremely difficult, but it is not unrealistic."
