"These two play each other at Wimbledon!" – Serena Williams' ex-coach amused by Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune's juniors doubles clip

Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs was amused by a throwback video of Holger Rune and Carlos Alcaraz that surfaced ahead of their Wimbledon clash.

Alcaraz and Rune are gearing up for their biggest face-off yet, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. The encounter will be the pair’s third on the ATP tour.

Their first clash came at the 2021 next-Gen Finals, where Alcaraz emerged the winner. The quarterfinals of the 2022 Paris Masters marked their second and most recent meeting. Eventual champion Rune won the contest following Alcaraz’s mid-match retirement.

A video of the two contesting the Les Petits As junior tennis tournament in 2017 recently resurfaced ahead of their impending Wimbledon match-up. The two exhibited great camaraderie in the clip and were seen hitting some impressive winners.

Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs was amused to see the World No. 1 Alcaraz and World No. 6 Rune on the same side of the court. She took to Twitter to express her excitement about their maiden Grand Slam clash.

“Yep these two play each other tomorrow @wimbledon!” she wrote, adding heart and laughing emojis.

Rennae Stubbs on Instagram

---

"He loves the game" – What Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune have said ahead of Wimbledon clash

Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune at the 2023 Queen's Club Championships

Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune have taken the tennis world by storm since last year. They are currently placed at career-high rankings of World No. 1 and World No. 6, respectively. Both of them are in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time in their careers.

Alcaraz is aiming for his second Grand Slam title at the 2023 Championships, and a sixth title this season. He five titles in 2023 so far have come at Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, and Queen’s Club. He has also featured in the final of the Rio Open.

Rune, meanwhile, is in pursuit of his maiden Grand Slam trophy, and a second title this season. He has featured in three finals, including the Masters 1000s in Monte-Carlo and Rome. His solitary title so far this year has come at the BMW Open in Munich.

Speaking about their impending Wimbledon clash, the 2022 Paris Masters champion said he was looking forward to challenging Alcaraz.

“To be able to play quarterfinal against a player that is your same age, at the top of the ranking, feels amazing. I'm really looking forward to that match. I even looked at it when I was in the first round. Now we're here so I'm really pumped and excited for it,” Holger Rune said in his post fourth-round press conference.

Alcaraz too expressed his excitement about the highly-anticipated match-up.

“I'm really excited about this match. We shared a lot of great moments. We played together since we were 12 years old. We've not texted each other, but obviously we know really well each other. He has a lot of passion. He loves the game. He's a really competitive guy, as well,” the 2022 US Open champion said in his press conference.

The Spaniard and the Dane are scheduled to take to Centre Court at 02:45 pm local time on Wednesday, July 12.