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Has Rune Solves The Djokovic Puzzle?
4 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
By Scoop Malinowski
Everybody remembers when Holger Rune first emerged in the tennis universe as a force to be reckoned with. The Danish teenager’s astounding debut on the world stage happened at the US Open on Ashe Stadium, the night match showdown vs Novak Djokovic.
The teenager Rune, 18 at the time, lost the first set to Djokovic 61 but he was far from intimidated by who was across the net. Rune transformed into a superstar dynamo in the second set and shockingly prevailed in the tiebreaker.
The surprises about Rune’s performance were that he was able to play at an equal level to the world no. 1 kingpin on the biggest stage of the sport, while also exhibiting the fearless mindset and burning obsession emotional adrenaline that signaled to everyone viewing that, against all the odds, this kid absolutely believed and expected to win the match!
Now ranked 7 in the world and the winner of four ATP singles titles, Rune was just a kid back then but he already possessed the maturity of a Grand Slam champion and the comfort and poise to compete against the most formidable champions anywhere anytime.
Djokovic won the third and fourth sets comfortably but Rune made an unforgettable first impression.
Rune’s second crack at Djokovic came over a year later in the final of Paris Indoors 2022. Once again, Rune rose to the big occasion of a 1000 final and despite falling in the first set 36, he raised his level again and ultimately prevailed with a surprising win 63 75.
Yesterday the two rivals clashed for the third time in Rome quarterfinals and Rune showed us all again he is a player capable of extraordinary, superhuman results. Rune beat Djokovic yesterday in another classic thriller, 62 46 62.
You may not remember but earlier in his career when he was still a whippersnapper teenager, the now 20 year old Rune actually said that he thinks he is capable of winning more French Opens than Nadal. That bold statement was deemed as just crazy talk but if you really think about it, it shows Rune has a self confidence level beyond everyone else. To have the guts to say that to the media, that he can possibly break Nadal’s French Open record of 14 titles is the ultimate display of self belief.
“It’s the crazy ones who change the world.”
Rune is established now as a player who is ready mentally and physically to win his first Grand Slam title. Right now Rune is my pick to win the 2023 French Open title.
ATP · Babolat · Denmark · Holger Rune · Nike · Roland Garros
Steve · May 19, 2023 at 12:44 pm
Have you detected a breaking down of the Djoker-Goran coaching relationship? Has it shown some cracks? Is it time for a change?
Rune seemed to be hitting with more depth and fire power…
Scoop Malinowski · May 19, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Steve, not sure about the status of the relationship of Novak and Goran, also not sure who on earth is possibly qualified to tell Novak what to do. Even a wizard like Agassi ended up being dismissed. Rune is explosive, dynamic and young and he has much more incentive and motivation than the champion of 36 year of age with 22 Grand Slams and over $200m in his wallet. Rune may be an unstoppable force, sort of like a young Mike Tyson, nothing on earth is going to stop this force of nature.
Steve · May 20, 2023 at 6:51 am
I wonder if Boris is available once more
Scoop Malinowski · May 20, 2023 at 7:11 am
Steve, maybe uncle toni is available now that he’s contributed nothing to Felix.