Gap between Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune is becoming thinner and thinner, feels former Roger Federer coach

Former Roger Federer coach Ivan Ljubicic believes the gap between Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune is narrowing with every passing day and that the duo will be evenly matched very soon.

While Carlos Alcaraz has won his maiden Grand Slam already, which he achieved at the 2022 US Open, Rune has been slowly catching up with the Spaniard. After lifting his maiden Masters 1000 title at the Paris Masters last year, the Dane reached another at Monte-Carlo this year, where he fell to Andrey Rublev in the final.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, won the 2023 Indian Wells Masters, following which he went back-to-back at the Barcelona Open and the Masters 1000 Madrid Open. Rune, however, has reached the final of the ongoing Italian Open, defeating Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud along the way.

The head-to-head between the 20-year-olds currently stands at 1-1, another evidence of Ljubicic's statement. Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Croat further declared that Rune's main strength was his self-belief, while Carlos Alcaraz had a more mature and calmer persona on the court.

"Holger Rune believes a lot in himself, it's important to have this drive to always want more. Alcaraz is calmer, more mature, aware, and is able to better manage situations on the pitch. I don't see a huge [gap] between the two. Indeed, it is getting thinner and thinner,” he said.

In the interview, Ivan Ljubicic also touched on Daniil Medvedev, who is currently battling Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals of the Italian Open. While the former World No. 3 admitted Medvedev was playing well on clay in recent times, he did not think the Russian's natural game was best suited to the surface.

"We're still talking about a player who was also number 1 in the world, who won the US Open, so someone who plays very well. On clay, however, his serve is less incisive than the fast one, his groundstrokes are less annoying, and I really don't think red clay will become his favorite surface," he said.

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Holger Rune reaches third Masters 1000 final at Italian Open

Holger Rune in action at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023

Taking on Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the 2023 Italian Open, Holger Rune had to come back from a set down to down the Norwegian, doing so 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-2. By doing so, he reached the third Masters 1000 final of his career, following his run at the 2022 Paris Masters and the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.

In the final, Rune could face either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas, who are currently locked 4-4 in the first set of their clash. A victory on Sunday would give the Dane his second title of the year, having already lifted the trophy at the BMW Open in Munich earlier.