Why Rune's Win Over Kecmanovic Can Finally Turn Things Around For Him
ATP
Holger Rune has been struggling a lot recently, but in the first round of the 2023 Swiss Indoors in Basel, he finally won a match.
Coming into an event with a 1-10 record in the previous 11 matches is never easy, and actually it's something that many players don't even have to experience in their careers, as it's a very improbable losing streak.
Yet, it happened to one of the best young players on the ATP Tour, Holger Rune. Initially, the young Dane struggled with an injury, saying that he was playing at 20% of his capabilities, but certainly, it was also not easy mentally, with yet another win always waiting for him.
He's yet to win back-to-back matches since Wimbledon, but that can happen at the 2023 Swiss Indoors. One of the changes that Rune made included appointing Boris Becker as his new coach, and that may as well have contributed to his positive turnaround of the season.
Coco Gauff could speak for hours about how one or two good voices in her corner helped her, and that may be the case for the young Dane. Moreover, with an important first-round win, he certainly got confident again, and he was really happy after the match.
"I am happy I kept fighting and turned the match around. I tried to raise my level. I always enjoy playing here."
With four spots for the ATP Finals left up for grabs, the Dane needed this win, as he dropped to the eighth place in the 2023 ATP Race. With Taylor Fritz less than 100 points behind him, the 20-year-old needs to have solid last few weeks to book the spot.
And that's something that the first-round win may help him with. Confidence plays huge role in tennis, especially with young players like Rune. On top of that, he's going to play Sebastian Baez in the second round of the tournament, and the Argentinian is also far from his top form.
Even further, if Rune wins the match, he'll avoid a seeded player in the quarterfinals, as Sebastian Korda was stunned by Tomas Martin Etcheverry, but he can still face Andy Murray.
