Carlos Alcaraz has been giving fans a deep dive on the ATP Tour of late, answering the burning questions that everybody wants to know.
The 21-year-old is seriously hot property at the moment, having retained his Wimbledon crown earlier this month to win his fourth Grand Slam title.
What he has already accomplished at such a young age is mesmeric, and he shows no signs of slowing down either.
The more he continues to develop, the further behind this will leave people who are not growing alongside him.
Unfortunately, at the moment, that sadly includes Holger Rune.
Carlos Alcaraz names Holger Rune as the biggest trash-talker
Given the stagnation of this young star’s career, one might expect that he would be one of the quieter figures on the tour, perhaps hoping to establish himself a bit more as a threat before becoming renowned for his attitude.
However, the manner in which he burst onto the scene, heralded as the next big thing in tennis, did not aid in that.
Instantly expected to do great things for the sport, it’s fair to say he has failed thus far, yet seemingly he retains his somewhat immature attitude which does not help him whilst out on the court.
In fact, when asked who the biggest trash talker on tour is, speaking to the ATP Tour X account, Carlos Alcaraz did not hold back, almost seeming uncomfortable as he gave his answer: ‘[Holger] Rune. Sorry. Sorry, but that’s what I thought.’
Holger Rune has failed to back up his chat
For all this supposed trash-talking, it’s fair to say that Rune has failed to back up his claims.
After all, the Danish tennis star, who was widely expected to underpin a new generation of dominance alongside Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, is so far behind that duo now.
Whilst they are both Grand Slam winners, the 21-year-old remains far from their level, with just four titles to his name, none of which were won this year.
Rune’s coaching changes outline this lack of stability within his camp, and certainly are not helping his ambition to return alongside this unstoppable young pair.
That’s not to suggest that he’s not had chances to win big titles, having lost twice last year in ATP 1000 Masters events.
But, when it comes to Grand Slams, he has yet to get past the quarter-finals in any of the four big tournaments.
If he is this supposed trash-talker, perhaps it might be best to tone it down until he has the success and skill level to back it up with consistent victories and titles.
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