On Thursday, Boris Becker spoke about his own player’s unexpected exit from the Australian Open, putting aside his position as Holger Rune’s coach.
The German, who coaches alongside Severin Luthi, is not in Melbourne this week with Rune; instead, he is back home in Germany working for Eurosport.
In addition, Becker did not talk to his player during Rune’s defeat at the hands of adolescent wildcard Arthur Cazaux; instead, he appeared on the broadcaster’s coverage to analyze the loss.
The Australian Open’s fifth day was filled with exciting matches and upsets, as multiple top seeds were taken out in the second round.
Among them was Rune, who lost 7-6(4) 6-4 4-6 6-3 to world No. 122 Cazaux. He found it difficult to match the Frenchman’s skill level, committing 40 unintentional errors as Cazaux displayed a masterful serving display, hitting 18 aces.
Rune, who had assembled a superteam of coaches to help him through the 2024 season, was disappointed with the outcome.
The 20-year-old brought on Roger Federer’s former coach Luthi in the off-season after hiring Becker in October and then announcing they would be together permanently. Luthi was the one who accompanied him to Australia, and Becker took the odd choice to remark on the loss of his own player.
Cazaux deserves recognition for his outstanding performance; he is a young athlete with a lot of ability. The seven-time Grand Slam champion told Eurosport, for whom he is working this weekend, “It was more Arthur winning than Rune losing.” After explaining why his player had lost, Becker acknowledged that he wouldn’t be talking to Rune until the next day.
In evaluating his own trainee, the former world No. 1 stated: “He has a lot of firepower, a very quick arm, and he inspires a lot of people on the court, but that’s also the problem. It’s figuring out what to do when.
There’s always a tight line when it comes to tactics, including when to accelerate, take risks, and play defensively.
“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 better mentally, Becker said, referring to the actual encounter.
Along with some tactical guidance, the German gave Rune an explanation for why the 20-year-old should employ more heavy topspin.
He continued, “Every now and then it’s a little flat or he hits a half-volley from the baseline, which is a trick shot on good days and a frame out on terrible days.
Although it was an odd decision to evaluate Rune’s performance in public rather than having a private conversation with the player, Becker stated that he and Luthi intended to stay on as the Dane’s coaches this season.
Rather than mentoring his player, Boris Becker watched Holger Rune’s loss on television and assessed it.(Photo courtesy of Eurosport)
On Thursday, Boris Becker spoke about his own player’s unexpected exit from the Australian Open, putting aside his position as Holger Rune’s coach.
The German, who coaches alongside Severin Luthi, is not in Melbourne this week with Rune; instead, he is back home in Germany working for Eurosport.
In addition, Becker did not talk to his player during Rune’s defeat at the hands of adolescent wildcard Arthur Cazaux; instead, he appeared on the broadcaster’s coverage to analyze the loss.
The Australian Open’s fifth day was filled with exciting matches and upsets, as multiple top seeds were taken out in the second round. Rune was one of them; he was defeated.
