Wimbledon winner says tight schedule might benefit Holger Rune
Erstwhile Wimbledon doubles champion Frederik Lochte Nielsen believes that Holger Rune might benefit from a hectic schedule leading into mid-season Grand Slams.
Nielsen admitted that it remains to be seen if the young Danish star will reap the rewards for his work rate or suffer ill-effects.
Rune has been backed as an outside shot at Roland Garros this season, albeit behind the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and an injury-addled Rafael Nadal.
“Obviously, it’s been a question mark among many as to whether Holger can handle playing all these tournaments,” Nielsen told SpilXperten.
“But his team are really good at assessing how much he can handle and they know 100% how to get the best out of Holger.”
He believes that as long as Rune’s passion for the game remains his driving force, success will follow.
“He just loves playing tennis, and with all the statistics you see, he just has to keep going,” Nielsen added.
“He loves playing matches, that’s what he’s good at.”
Nielsen feels that getting the best out of Rune is a balancing act as he seems to respond very well to a heavy workload.
He cited Rune’s run to a maiden Paris Masters title that came off the back of a busy European indoor swing.
“At the end of last year he played a lot of matches, but he still made it into a lot of finals and he won the Paris Masters,” Nielsen added.
“He knows very well how to bring out the best in himself.”
If Nielsen has any great concerns, they are not for Rune’s immediate future.
He has greater concerns about the impact of playing an elite sport at the level he has as a teenager.
Nielsen doesn’t believe that a lighter schedule would be a good career move for Rune as he seeks a Grand Slam breakthrough and the world No 1 ranking.
Ultimately the veteran said that he would have to defer to Rune’s team who have guided him to heights no Danish man had reached before.
“I don’t necessarily think that a different tournament schedule would benefit him right now, and I don’t think that his many matches will negatively affect him in the Grand Slam tournaments,” Nielsen continued.
“I’ve wondered if they could do something differently, but it seems like they’ve got it 100% under control.
“Of course, I hope that the fact that he has played a lot of matches at a young age will not affect him later on.”
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