Holger Rune's coach Lars Christensen explains how he groomed the Dane in Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic's mould

Holger Rune's longtime coach Lars Christensen recently revealed how he groomed his protege after the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.

Rune enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, winning three ATP titles including his first Masters' title. The 19-year-old 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.

Speaking about his protege on a recent episode of the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast, Christensen revealed how Rune used to watch tennis clips of The Big 3 alongside several other renowned players:

"Holger is so much into tennis. He would normally sit with his ipad and watch tennis clips. He was very much into all the big guys. He has been very much into Federer when he was younger, and he has been into Rafa, he has been into Djokovic and several players."

Christensen then explained how he built Holger Rune with inputs from the Big 3, including Novak Djokovic's footwork, Roger Federer's offensive style, and Rafael Nadal's tenacity on clay courts:

"When I started building Holger from the beginning, I have always taken the best from the best guys, watching Djokovic's footwork and his abilities to stay close to the baseline, the way he returns, watching Roger's offensive game, how he approaches the net, how he serves."

Christensen added:

"I was watching a lot of Rafa, how he was on the clay court, his will to put in that extra shot and do angles and lot of spin and stuff like that. I tried to pick the best of everybody and tried to build Holger on these inputs."

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Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic played their last match together at the 2022 Laver Cup

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2022 Laver Cup.

After a stellar career that featured 103 ATP singles titles, including 20 Grand Slams, Federer bid adieu at the 2022 Laver Cup with one final match before his retirement at age 41. It was also The Big 3's last match together.

His career as a professional tennis player came to an end after losing in doubles alongside longtime rival and team Europe member Rafael Nadal, and his touching farewell speech drove nearly everyone in the stadium to tears, including Novak Djokovic, Nadal, and Andy Murray.