Jim Courier calls out Holger Rune and says he has 'no idea' what he's trying to do at the Paris Masters

Jim Courier calls out Holger Rune and says he has ‘no idea’ what he’s trying to do at the Paris Masters

Posted by Admin November 3, 2024 Tennis

Holger Rune recently fell at the semi-final stage of the Paris Masters in straight sets to Alexander Zverev.

Rune has endured a tough year in 2024, failing to pick up a title on the ATP Tour, and not reaching the quarter-final stage of any of the four Major tournaments.

Rune reached the final of the Brisbane Open, this January, losing out to Grigor Dimitrov 7-6, 6-4, his deepest run in any tournament this year.

Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The previous two seasons had seen the 21-year-old experience a lot more success on tour, winning the Paris Masters in 2022, and reaching the final of two further Masters 1000 tournaments in 2023.

The Dane has been widely criticized for frequently changing his coaching team, with Rune dropping Patrick Mouratoglou from his coaching setup for a second time in 2024.

This inconsistency has cost the former world number four, who despite a strong showing at this years final Masters 1000 event, remains outside of the world’s top ten.

Something, that one tennis legend blames on Rune not knowing what he is doing.

Jim Courier says Holger Rune has a ‘very immature game’ after Paris Masters defeat

Rune’s 6-3, 7-6 defeat to Zverev in Paris brought about a number of questions for Rune, as his tough 2024 continued.

Jim Courier spoke on Tennis Channel during Rune’s semi-final match and made his thoughts felt about how the Dane is currently approaching things.

“I for one have no idea what he’s trying to do out here,” he said.

“It’s like a full-blown jazz exploration out there. No rhyme, no rhythm.

“There’s a lot of great things happening, it’s just all scattershot and that is not a recipe for long-term success.

“It’s still a very immature game.”

The four-time Grand Slam champion gave Rune some pointers on what he needs to change if he wants to compete at the top of the game.

“If he wants to be with the big boys consistently, he’s going to have to find something he can rely on rather than throwing paint against the wall and seeing what it looks like when it’s all said and done,” said Courier.

“He just needs a sense of order – doesn’t have it”.

How does Holger Rune compare against the best youngsters on the ATP Tour?

When Rune took down Novak Djokovic to win the Paris Masters in 2022, comparisons were quickly made to fellow rising star Carlos Alcaraz who had just picked up his first Grand Slam title at the US Open.

Since then, things haven’t gone quite how the Dane would’ve hoped, however, and whilst the Spaniard has added several Grand Slam trophies to his cabinet, Rune is yet to reach even a semi-final at a Major.

Alcaraz may be a step too far, but how does Rune fare when compared to the rest of the young talent in men’s tennis?

ATP rank	Career high ATP rank	Name	Best Grand Slam performance	Best Masters 1000 performance	Best ATP 500 performance	Best ATP 250 performance
2	1	Carlos Alcaraz	W – US Open, French Open, Wimbledon X 2	W – Miami Open, Indian Wells X 2, Madrid Open X 2	W – Rio Open, Queen’s club, China Open, Barcelona Open X 2	W – Croatia Open, Argentina Open
13	4	Holger Rune	QF – Wimbledon, French Open X 2	W – Paris Masters	F – Basel Open	W – Stockholm Open, Bavarian Open X 2
20	20	Arthur Fils	4R – Wimbledon	3R – Indian Wells, Paris Masters	W – Hamburg Open, Japan Open	W – Lyon Open
31	31	Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard	4R – Wimbledon	2R – Paris Masters	W – Basel Open	W – Lyon Open
44	43	Alex Michelsen	3R – Australian Open	2R – Indian Wells, Miami Open, Cincinnati Masters, Shanghai Masters, Paris Masters	QF – Japan Open	F – Winston-Salem Open, Hall of Fame Open X2

Top five U-22 players on the ATP Tour compared

It’s clear to see that when looking at Rune’s fellow youngsters, things don’t look nearly as bad.

His quarter-final appearances at Grand Slam tournaments look a lot more impressive and winning at Masters 1000 level is not something that many others can relate to.

Alcaraz may be setting a pace that the Dane can’t quite keep up with, but at just 21 years old, there is nothing stopping Rune from achieving great things on the ATP Tour.

Rune returns to action at the Moselle Open in Metz on Tuesday.