Holger Rune’s clay-court season came to an end in the quarter-finals of the French Open, after losing to Casper Ruud at the same stage of the competition as last year. Ranked sixth in the world, the best of his career, the Dane had a very good season on clay, including two Masters 1000 finals, in Monte Carlo and Rome, and a title in Munich.
But for his coach Patrick Mouratoglou, this defeat in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros – his best performance in a Grand Slam (as in 2022 in Paris) – is disappointing, as the objective was to win the tournament.
In the latest episode of The Eye of the Coach, the Frenchman takes stock of Rune’s positive evolution since October 2022, and also explains that lessons will have to be learned from this Roland-Garros 2023 in order to progress towards the major objective of becoming world No 1 and winning Grand Slam tournaments.
KEY MOMENTS
5”: For Patrick Mouratoglou, last year’s Holger Rune is not the same player he is today. The Dane has progressed a lot and won a lot too.
40”: It’s time to take stock of what’s gone right and what’s gone wrong, so we can move on from a solid Top 10 player to a potential No 1 and Grand Slam winner.
50”: Even if, when you look at his ranking, this result is logical, defeat in the quarter-finals of the French Open is disappointing for Holger Rune, explains the French coach, as this is not the Dane’s objective, who aspires to go further.
1’29: The road to becoming world number one isn’t made up of victories alone; you have to experience defeat in order to grow.
1’53: Patrick Mouratoglou explains that Holger Rune was mentally tired during his match against Casper Ruud. The Dane has been playing a lot on clay over the last few months, where he has evolved a lot.
2’35: One of the reasons he was mentally tired was also his new status as a Grand Slam outsider.
But for his coach Patrick Mouratoglou, this defeat in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros – his best performance in a Grand Slam (as in 2022 in Paris) – is disappointing, as the objective was to win the tournament.
In the latest episode of The Eye of the Coach, the Frenchman takes stock of Rune’s positive evolution since October 2022, and also explains that lessons will have to be learned from this Roland-Garros 2023 in order to progress towards the major objective of becoming world No 1 and winning Grand Slam tournaments.
KEY MOMENTS
5”: For Patrick Mouratoglou, last year’s Holger Rune is not the same player he is today. The Dane has progressed a lot and won a lot too.
40”: It’s time to take stock of what’s gone right and what’s gone wrong, so we can move on from a solid Top 10 player to a potential No 1 and Grand Slam winner.
50”: Even if, when you look at his ranking, this result is logical, defeat in the quarter-finals of the French Open is disappointing for Holger Rune, explains the French coach, as this is not the Dane’s objective, who aspires to go further.
1’29: The road to becoming world number one isn’t made up of victories alone; you have to experience defeat in order to grow.
1’53: Patrick Mouratoglou explains that Holger Rune was mentally tired during his match against Casper Ruud. The Dane has been playing a lot on clay over the last few months, where he has evolved a lot.
2’35: One of the reasons he was mentally tired was also his new status as a Grand Slam outsider.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 The road to number one is not only successes.
00:02 We need to take the lessons, we need to understand,
00:04 and we need to find solutions to go further.
00:07 That's basically the job.
00:08 Now if I look back at him in October and him now,
00:15 I think he's a different player.
00:17 He grew a lot, he developed a lot, he won a lot.
00:21 He was third in the world in October,
00:23 he's now fifth or sixth, which is not the final destination,
00:26 but he made a big step.
00:28 He won a lot, he's also tired physically, mentally.
00:31 It's not an excuse, but it's a fact.
00:33 And I think it's time to sit down and think
00:35 what the good things that have been done,
00:37 but also what needs to be done in the future
00:39 to the next evolution from a top 10 player,
00:42 a solid top 10, because now what we can say
00:44 is a solid top 10, to a potential number one
00:47 and a Grand Slam winner.
00:48 If you just look at his ranking and the result,
00:51 it's logic, but it's disappointing to lose in quarters
00:54 because that's not the goal.
00:55 The goal is not to play your level,
00:58 but to play your future level and continue to develop.
01:01 So now when Holger plays a Grand Slam, it's to win it.
01:04 Not that before it was not to win it,
01:05 but before it was more difficult to imagine winning it.
01:08 When you do a season on clay,
01:10 you reach to a Masters 1000 final and win a title,
01:13 and you're number six in the world,
01:14 and you're clearly on your way up.
01:16 You can't imagine winning it, and you have to aim,
01:19 and we do aim at winning Grand Slams.
01:20 So that's why it's disappointing,
01:22 because he didn't win it.
01:23 To stop in quarters is not the result that is expected.
01:25 If you think you wake up tomorrow and you're number one,
01:28 that's not the right way to think.
01:30 Everything is a journey to success
01:33 with, again, development and wins.
01:35 So you need to experience the failures
01:37 to understand what you do wrong,
01:39 what you should, maybe a behavior, maybe a shot,
01:44 maybe a combination of shots,
01:45 maybe a percentage of a serve,
01:48 whatever it is, to keep moving up.
01:51 I think mentally he was extremely tired,
01:54 not only from his previous match in five sets,
01:57 but more than that, the whole clay season,
01:59 the whole year, the whole eight months
02:01 that were crazy in a way,
02:03 and the last weeks before the Slam,
02:05 and I think it can be also a lesson to play, of course,
02:08 to play to win, but not to overplay.
02:10 And there is a fine line there to find
02:13 between playing and overplaying.
02:14 When you are emotionally exhausted in tennis,
02:17 it's not one reason.
02:19 It's a combination of many factors
02:21 that play the role.
02:22 So again, the clay season, a lot of matches,
02:24 a lot of emotions, won a lot,
02:27 but also paid the price for winning.
02:28 There is always a price.
02:29 Started the Rangaros tired, and this five-set match.
02:32 But also a new status.
02:34 He came to Rangaros being not a favorite.
02:37 There are two favorites, Alkaraz and Djokovic,
02:39 but being one of the main outsiders.
02:42 Probably two, three guys that were very serious outsiders,
02:45 and he was one of them.
02:46 So this just brings the expectation to the higher level,
02:49 and you have much more pressure.
02:50 I mean, I think it's great with pressure,
02:52 but it's new, and when something new comes to you,
02:55 there is always a little time for adaptation,
02:58 and I think this also burned a lot of mental energy.
03:00 (upbeat music)
03:03 (upbeat music)
03:05 (upbeat music)