tennis
Becker’s next job: getting the “Rough Diamond” rune on track
Should refine rough diamond Holger Rune: Boris Becker. photo
© Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
Boris Becker is back where he feels most comfortable: on the tennis court. The three-time Wimbledon champion coaches one of the most exciting players on the tour – and thrives.
Almost after every rally, Becker jumps up, applauds, gestures and gives instructions. Becker has now been back on the tennis tour as the so-called super coach of the young Danish star for around three weeks – and is completely in his element.
“See him as a diamond in the rough”
“I see him as a rough diamond that needs to be polished,” said Becker in the Eurosport podcast “Das Gelbe vom Ball” about Rune, who is currently considered one of the most exciting professionals on the tour. Rune, the Italian Jannik Sinner, who has played well in Turin so far, and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz from Spain – these are the three players who can hold the future in men’s tennis.
Despite being only 20 years old, Rune practically has everything he needs to become a great and win Grand Slam tournaments. It’s just that the Dane often doesn’t have his emotions under control on the pitch. At the French Open in Paris last year he sent his mother Aneke out of the stands. He repeatedly gets into trouble with his opponents or spectators.
Enjoy emotional outbursts
No problem for Becker. Quite the opposite. “I like these emotional outbursts on the court,” said the three-time Wimbledon winner, who used to be impulsive on the court himself. “Novak Djokovic was the same way, he wasn’t completely at his ease at times,” said Becker, who trained the world number one from Serbia very successfully for three years and still maintains a very good relationship with the record winner of Grand Slam tournaments . “It’s nice that Boris is back,” said Djokovic, who defeated Rune in three sets in his opening match at the ATP Finals.
For Becker, returning as a tennis coach is also a return to a normal life. About a year ago, amid much fanfare, he was released from a British prison where he was serving time for insolvency offences. Since then, the 55-year-old has worked as a TV expert again and was always present on the tennis tour. However, he was not there at Wimbledon and New York due to immigration problems.
Request in October
In October, Rune, who had been struggling since Wimbledon, asked whether Becker could imagine working as a coach. After a week of training together in Monte Carlo, the duo agreed to work together until the end of the year. “At the end of the day, I love tennis. And when one of the best 20-year-olds in the world asks me if I’m interested, anyone who says no has nothing to do with the sport,” said Becker, explaining his commitment for the exciting project.
And the collaboration already seems to be paying off. Since Wimbledon, Rune had only won one game and the lightness and self-confidence that characterized him had completely disappeared. Since Becker has been at his side, the Dane reached the semi-finals in Basel and had Djokovic on the verge of defeat in a thrilling three-set match in the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 event in Paris.
“It’s great to have Boris in my box,” said Rune in Turin, where he is fighting for a place in the semi-finals against Sinner this Thursday (9 p.m./Sky). “He was often on the pitch in such situations and can give me a lot of valuable tips,” said Rune about Becker, who sometimes puts the balls into play himself during training sessions.
And how does the Dane like it that Becker keeps jumping up? “Maybe it’s the blood circulation in the legs,” Rune said, then added seriously. “I think when he wants to coach, he stands up. That way he can better convey the way he coaches me.”
After the ATP finals in Turin, Rune and Becker want to sit down together and see whether the collaboration will continue next year. There is currently a lot to suggest that Becker will continue to hone the “diamond in the rough” Rune. “When you win, you generally stay together,” said Becker.