Holger Rune
will kick off the 2024 season at the
ATP 250
Brisbane International, scheduled
to take place between December 31 and January 7. World No. 8 will be without
his coaching duo, Boris Becker and Severin Luthi (formerly one of Roger
Federer's coaches).
The absence
of the coaches was confirmed by Denmark’s TV2 Sport, which has close ties to
the player's environment. Rune, due to the absence of Becker and Luthi, has had
to enlist a temporary coach: Kenneth Carlsen, a tennis expert for TV2 Sport,
who will work with Rune in Brisbane. This partnership will be exclusively
during the first weeks of January in the inaugural tournament of the year.
As detailed
in the Danish television report, Swiss coach Severin Luthi will arrive in
Australia on January 8, the day when he will begin taking charge of Rune's
preparation for the Australian Open, which runs from January 14 to January 28.
During those days, he also plans to participate in the Kooyong Classic
exhibition tournament between January 10 and 12, alongside players like Jannik
Sinner, Stan Wawrinka, and Dominic Thiem, among others.
As for
Boris Becker, he reportedly requested an extended leave to travel to Santo Tomé
and Príncipe in Central Africa, the home country of his girlfriend. The former
world No. 1 will also arrive from January 8 onwards to fine-tune the last
details before the first Grand Slam of the year.
Favorites
at Brisbane International
The Danish tennis player will be the top seed at the
ATP 250, which boasts a star-studded lineup with seven players within the top
30, something unusual for this category. Alongside Rune (No. 8), the
main favorites include Grigor Dimitrov (No. 14), Ben Shelton (No. 17), and Ugo
Humbert (No. 20).
However, the major attraction of the tournament on the men's
side will be the presence of the 22-times Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, who
will finally make his return to competition after nearly a year out due to
injury.
