After his successful decade-long run as the coach of Serena Williams came to an end in 2022 following the American legend’s retirement, Patrick Mouratoglou took Holger Rune under his wing.
Rune, 19 at the time, had enjoyed a promising first full year on the ATP Tour, reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and cracking the world’s top 30.
After appointing the Frenchman, however, the Dane would go on to achieve the greatest feat of his career to date by emerging victorious at the Paris Masters.
Weeks before the ATP 1000 tournament, Rune approached Mouratoglou and made a bold prediction.
What Holger Rune told Patrick Mouratoglou before winning in Paris
In a post on Instagram, the 55-year-old recalled: “With Holger Rune, the story is incredible.”
Their first event working together was at the Stockholm Open, where Mouratoglou said Rune “didn’t hit one ball in” during his practice before the competition.
“He goes flat, every ball, full power, everywhere, but in the court,” said his former coach. “I think what the f— is that?
“Then we go to the match, he plays completely differently and wins. ‘Okay, let’s do the same tomorrow’.
“He was 30 in the world [in 2022], he comes to me and he says ‘Okay, I have a 250, a 500 and a 1,000 in a row. My goal is to win the three so I can play the Masters’.
“I mean, guys just lost six or nine times in the first round in a row, and he thinks he’s going to win the three, and he really believed it.
“He won the 250, made the final of the 500, and won the 1000, beating five top 10 players, including Novak Djokovic in the final and [Carlos] Alcaraz in the semifinals. It’s a joke. If he believes… wow.”
Holger Rune’s incredible campaign at the 2022 Paris Masters
Rune’s first match at the Paris Masters in 2022 was against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, against whom he came back from a set down to defeat.
He then earned straight-set victories over Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev, before advancing past the first seed, Carlos Alcaraz, via a walkover after leading the Spaniard 6-3, 6-6.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| Final | Novak Djokovic | 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 |
| Semifinals | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 6-4, 6-2 |
| Quarterfinals | Carlos Alcaraz | 6-3, 6-6 (Walkover) |
| Third Round | Andrey Rublev | 6-4, 7-5 |
| Second Round | Hubert Hurkacz | 7-5, 6-1 |
| First Round | Stan Wawrinka | 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 |
After coming through his bout with Felix Auger-Aliassime, Rune was pitted against Novak Djokovic for the second time in his career.
The young star triumphed over the legendary Serb in another comeback win, besting Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to clinch his first and only ATP Masters 1000 title.
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