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The withdrawal of Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz (20) due to injury was a hard blow for Swiss Indoors. But the organizers of the tournament were lucky: he was immediately shocked by the news that a certain Boris Becker (55) would make his sensational return as a coach in Basel, of all places. The German, six-time Grand Slam winner and former successful coach of Novak Djokovic (36), is now taking over the Danish top youngster Holger Rune (20).
“He brings glamor to the tournament,” says SRF expert Marco Chiudinelli (42), before Becker takes a seat in his new player box for the first time. Rune, the top seed in Basel, has been in extremely poor form lately and is therefore looking for new input. He has won just one match since Wimbledon in July.
The week before in Stockholm, where he was again thrown out of the starting round, Becker was unable to attend. For this purpose, the tennis legend traveled extra early to Basel with the number 6 in the world. There was a first training in the St. Jakobshalle on Friday. Becker, who served a prison sentence until last December due to postponed bankruptcy proceedings, was seen again with a tennis racket and a basket of balls.
Only mom Aneke was there during the recording
But on Rune’s first matchday, before the match with the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (24), there was initially no trace of Becker. When the Dane played on Center Court at lunchtime, only Mama Aneke was present. She sits comfortably in the referee’s chair and watches the action from above.
And Becker? He speaks almost simultaneously in a discussion session with his former Austrian rival Thomas Muster (56). And in… Vienna. A few hours before Rune’s serious fight, Becker fulfills an obligation he had already agreed to weeks ago and which, despite being a trainer, he apparently could no longer cancel. But because he has to be at the competition tournament in Basel, which is 650 kilometers away as the crow flies, Becker is under great stress.
At a press conference, which he also holds in Vienna, unlike the Swiss Indoors, he says: “Holger is playing tonight. I have to go right away. Everything is still very fresh, the real work starts now. I hope I can find the right words.”
A few hours and a short flight later, Becker can actually be seen in the St. Jakobshalle, cheering and encouraging Rune. Sometimes he stands up and claps energetically. Sometimes he clenches his fist.
The Becker effect works. Rune turns up the heat after a miserable first set, hitting some great power shots and beating Kecmanovic 1:6, 7:5, 6:3.
“It’s cool that he’s on tour again.”
The collaboration has now really started. And besides, the tournament bosses will also be happy to have Rune and Becker staying in the competition. And not just them, the players too.
Stan Wawrinka says: “I really appreciate Boris Becker.” And Dominic Stricker says: “He’s a big name. Cool that he’s on tour again. You can find him every now and then in the Player’s Lounge.” Almost no one in Basel noticed anything about Becker’s trip to Vienna.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
