"Bulls**t to claim that Holger Rune will be World No. 1 or win the French Open" - New coach Boris Becker urges caution with the Dane for the moment

Tennis great Boris Becker recently confirmed that he is the new coach of Holger Rune. The German also mentioned that the youngster would not become World No. 1 overnight, nor would he win the French Open in the same way.

The rumors of the duo possibly working together started circulating after Rune posted a picture of himself training with Becker on his Instagram account a few days ago.

The Dane hasn't been in great shape since his split with Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou following his first-round elimination at the 2023 US Open.

So it was just a matter of time before Rune hired a veteran coach, and who better than the legend himself, who previously coached 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic to countless title-winning glories?

However, the duo stayed tight-lipped for a few days until Boris Becker spoke with Eurosport today (October 19) and confirmed his new partnership with Holger Rune. He also discussed the 20-year-old rising to World No. 1 or winning the French Open overnight, saying:

"It would be bulls**t to claim now that Holger will become No. 1 or win the French Open."

The six-time Grand Slam champion then added that his goal is to bring out the best in Holger Rune, which will take time. In order to achieve so, the German will need to arrange everything in his life, from scheduling a training week for the Dane to deciding when he will take a vacation.

"My ambition is to find the best Holger Rune. To do that, the tournament schedule has to fit. If he plays every week, he will eventually get tired," Becker said.

"That's why I have to have a big say in this, according to the motto: 'Here we have to insert a training week, here we have to regenerate, and maybe you go on holiday with your girlfriend for 10 days'. That is part of the planning, because in the end, I am jointly responsible for the success," he added.

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Defending champion Holger Rune eliminated in Stockholm Open opener

Holger Rune pictured at the 2023 China Open

Holger was looking to defend his Stockholm Open title this week, and he began his campaign at the ATP 250 tournament against Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

However, it was clearly not the Dane's day as World No. 53 Kecmanovic thrashed the top seed in straight sets. While the first set was closely fought, the second set was a clean sweep for the Serb, and the final score was 6-7(3), 2-6.

A title triumph in Sweden two years in a row would have surely given Holger Rune an advantage in cementing his hopes of participating in the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.

He is currently eighth in the ATP Live Race to Turin, but his spot is under threat this week from Taylor Fritz, who is aiming to defend his title in the Japan Open.