"It came a little bit faster than what was planned" - Coach Lars Christensen on Holger Rune's debut in the Top 10 ATP Rankings
Holger Rune's coach Lars Christensen recently shared his thoughts on the Dane's debut in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings. Rune is currently one of the most talented youngsters on the ATP tour.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, winning three ATP titles, including his first Masters title.
The Danish player also reached his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, losing to Casper Ruud in a four-set thriller. Furthermore, his accomplishments secured him a career-high ranking of World No. 10 in November 2022.
In light of this, Lars Christensen, who has been coaching Holger Rune since he was seven, discussed his breakout season on a recent episode of the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
He stated that it's "great" that Rune has accomplished so much this season, adding that his debut in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings came a "little bit faster" than he expected, as his goal for Rune was to finish the year in the top 25.
"It's great. For me, it's all very logical what's happening. I mean, it's not normal what's happening at all, because what he has been doing and the way he is performing is beyond belief, but we have been building all this brick on brick, it's developing so much. Also his physique has been in huge development last year, so it's not like I am surprised about what's happening," Christensen said.
"I think it came a little bit faster than what was planned. I planned him to be top 25 by the end of this year. So, top 10 is absolutely better than we thought," he added.
"Every time I introduce something on Monday, he would do it perfect on Wednesday" - Lars Christensen on Holger Rune's passion for tennis
When asked if Holger Rune's passion for the game came naturally or if it was something he learned, Lars Christensen replied that the 19-year-old was passionate from the beginning. He would complete whatever task Christensen assigned to him perfectly in two days, while most of the other kids took a week.
"That's definitely natural for him. It was some of the first things I noticed when I started working with him when he was seven years old. At that time, I would have a group of small kids coming for two-three sessions a week and normally I will go on Monday, I will introduce new things, 'This week we are gonna work on this stroke, this kind of mechanics.' I would introduce it on Monday and then on Wednesday I would work on it again and on Friday I would expect most kids to do it more or less perfect. But, every time I introduce something on Monday, Holger would do it perfect on Wednesday," Christensen said.
"He was just so much into it so I knew and asked his mother on what's going on and she told every time he came home, he would stand in front of the mirror and then just repeat and repeat and repeat. He was so passionate about it from the very beginning," he added.