“That match was the most important of my life. Proving to myself that I could beat a legend like him was a great confidence booster, which I still have. I know what it takes to get to that level and I’m willing to work hard to get there.
and keep it.” Holger Rune spoke again about his triumph in the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy, recalling his surprising victory in the final against the Serbian Novak Djokovic, in words collected by Tennis Majors. The Dane was disappointed not to have had the opportunity to face the new world number one again at the Australian Open, given his round of 16 defeat against Russian Andrey Rublev: “I really wanted to challenge him, it was frustrating to lose.
I’m sure it would have been a very difficult game, but also that I would have gone with the conviction that I could win”, he revealed. The player born in 2003 added: “I’m willing to give one hundred percent and, if things don’t work, look for solutions on the court.
Looking at my season in general, it won’t be easy to handle the feeling and the pressure of having to win more games than last year.” The athlete also spoke of the close relationship he has with his coach, Patrick Mouratoglu: “At first he was going to stay with me until the end of 2022, but we decided to stay together.
I get along very well with Patrick, we have gotten along well and he has made my whole team improve. I am satisfied with how I have designed my environment for this season”, he affirmed, and concluded: “I am prepared.”
Djokovic is back on top
Speaking on The Big Deal – Australian Sports Business Podcast, Cahill spoke highly of Novak Djokovic’s ability to find weaknesses in his opponent’s game.
“I actually heard Andrea Petkovic describe Novak as being like water because you can sort of get it but you can’t really hold on to it,” Cahill said. “And I reckon that’s a really good way of describing Novak because he finds a way to get through every crack and every crevice to break down the opponent’s game and find weaknesses.
And his movement and his professionalism is second to none. I mentioned Federer before being the trailblazer for what he was able to do 15 years ago for a long period of time. But these guys [Nadal and Djokovic] have taken it to a whole new level, especially Novak.
I’ve never seen anybody look after their body and be more professional than Novak, with the lengths he goes to get his body into the place it is,” he added.
