Brave Holger Rune gets a chance to practice with Novak Djokovic

Once he found out that Novak Djokovic will not travel to Miami, the 17-year-old leading junior Holger Rune was brave enough to ask the world's leading player for a practice run in Monaco!

The 2019 Roland Garros champion and the world's best junior will hit the court with the 18-time Major winner on Wednesday in Monte Carlo, as Novak Djokovic agreed to share the court with the promising youngster. One of the best players born in 2003 is currently ranked 317th after winning three Futures titles in 2020, gathering momentum ahead of the current season and reaching his first ATP quarter-final as a qualifier in Santiago a few weeks ago.

"I can't believe that I will have a chance to train with Novak Djokovic. He is the world's leading player, and it will be incredible to share the court with him. I wrote to him on Instagram, to be completely honest. I asked whether he was in Monaco or the area, as I saw that he had withdrawn from Miami. Novak wrote back and confirmed that we could train together. It is awesome. It also gives me confidence because he does not bother to train with anyone.

I can not play with a better player, and it will be good sparring for me. I have never tried to play with him before, and it should be interesting to see our practice session on clay. I know he puts a lot of drop shots, so I have to move a lot. Novak hits the ball so cleanly; it's crazy. He has insanely good strokes and does not miss many balls; it should be cool to train with him.

I hope he would like that so I can see if I can take a set from him. Now I have gained some experience and know that the difference is not that big either. There are some small things with the choices they make under different situations, but I believe I can at least challenge him," Holger Rune said.