"He's much more than Serbian, he's an exceptional champion, maybe the greatest" - Holger Rune's coach Patrick Mouratoglou on Novak Djokovic
2022 Paris Masters champion Holger Rune's coach Patrick Mouratoglou has heaped praise on 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic following the biggest title win of his ward on Sunday.
The 19-year-old stormed back from a 1-3 deficit in the deciding set to shock six-time champion Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 en route to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy.
Mouratoglou joined the young Dane's team only in October to prepare him for the final few events of the season as well as the 2023 pre-season. Since then, the teen has embarked on the most successful phase of his fledgling career, winning titles in Stockholm and the Paris Masters, and finishing as the runner-up in Basel.
Mouratoglou's addition to Rune's team seems to have worked wonders. His academy is known to have churned out champions over the years and many of them have had Serbian opponents before, including the likes of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic faced by Serena Williams.
On being asked if his experience of knowing Serbian players helped Rune in the final, Mouratoglou underlined how Djokovic can't be labeled as just another Serbian player.
"I don't know if you can categorize Novak as a Serbian tennis player," he said. "Of course he's Serbian, but I think he's much more than Serbian. He's an exceptional champion. Maybe the greatest. We'll see."
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Mouratoglou then went on to acknowledge how playing the Serb was the "greatest challenge possible" for any player and underlined the need to have a "very clear plan."
"So it's probably, to play Novak in a final of a tournament is probably the greatest challenge possible," he said. "The only way to prepare a match against him is to have a very clear plan and be able to manage one's emotions and manage all the situations you will have to go through. We went through so many different scenarios during this match.
"Holger has been able to find answers most of the time," he added. "That's why he ended up winning. But I don't think you can teach anyone to win against Novak. You have to have something special and something extra, and he definitely has."
"He had a champion's mindset from the start" - Patrick Mouratoglou on Holger Rune
Patrick Mouratoglou and Holger Rune go back a long way. Although the French coach has only recently joined his team in an official capacity, the young Dane has had the opportunity to hone his skills at Mouratoglou's academy even in the past.
Recalling his first impression of the teen, Mouratoglou admitted that he thought Rune had a lot of work to do, but the thing that particularly struck him was his mindset.
"He was not impressive in his level of play," Mouratoglou said. "He played very well. He was already among the best among the under-14, but he was not standing out. He didn't have a specific shot. He didn't play loose. He didn't have what some observers were trying to look for.
"However, his mindset, his determination, he had them already, and this is what made him stand out," he continued. "As for the rest, he developed them throughout the time. He's managed to progress very much. His forehand, his backhand, his serve, he's built it throughout time. The making of champions is not tennis. It's built throughout time with a good mindset."
Holger Rune was ranked No. 103 in the ATP world rankings when he started the 2022 season. The Copenhagen-born player's spectacular campaign saw him reach his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open. Now with three titles under his belt, including an ATP Masters 1000 one, he has cracked the Top-10 this week.
Rune accounted for the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Felix Auger-Aliassime before downing Novak Djokovic on his way to Paris Masters glory. The focus and self-belief that he oozed in every match was outstanding, to say the least.
Analyzing Holger Rune's rapid ascent, Mouratoglou pointed out that being able to manage his emotions of late has definitely played its part.
"First of all, he managed to control his emotions," he explained. "That was very important. That has allowed him to win the match today (Sunday). He was very close to being defeated.
"If he was broken during the first set, then it's not the same match," he added. "Every time he didn't panic. He managed to remain focused, to find the right keys. He's gotten actually outstanding mental capacities. Before he could not manage his emotions enough.
"Now he's more stable from an emotional point of view during the match, so he manages to be mentally stronger. It was this tournament that was the key, but before that, he had managed to find it already and managed the match even before that as well," he concluded.