PREVIEW | 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel - First week of Holger Rune's Boris Becker union as FRITZ, RUUD and MURRAY also star

Sunday, 22 October 2023 at 17:00

As the weeks towards the end of the season draw closer, the Swiss Indoors Basel is a usual common stop on the road towards the end of the season with Holger Rune as top seed.

Our preview looks ahead to the indoor hard court spectacle which sits on the ATP 500 calendar. It was also a tournament initially featuring Carlos Alcaraz who has since withdrawn.

Holger Rune begins union with Boris Becker in Basel

One of the main talking points in the coming week is Holger Rune who has been massively out of form, but there is cause for optimism in the form of new coach and tennis legend Boris Becker.

After being sighted with the German who is starting to make his way back into the fabric of tennis after being in prison, he initially refuted anything more than being a friend and helping him out.

But Becker then announced himself that they would be working together for the remainder of the season, a union that Rune hopes to gleam knowledge of.

Including of one of Becker's most famous former students in Novak Djokovic. Likely a leading focus of attention, Rune will hope that the attention being on Becker will take away from him and his poor form which he will hope to arrest as he looks for ATP Finals qualification.

Fritz, Ruud best of the rest

Second seed and similarly hoping for the same goal is Casper Ruud who will face Alexander Bublik. Taylor Fritz will also head to Europe for the first time this season after his shock loss in Japan.

He faces Max Purcell and Stan Wawrinka could be his second round opponent. Hubert Hurkacz, Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime also headline the field.

Which also includes Andy Murray who could meet Rune in the latter stages and he starts against Yannick Hanfmann as Lendl meets Becker if he gets to Rune.

If he gets past Hanfmann (not an easy feat), it could be Tomas Martin Etcheverry or the in-form Sebastian Korda.

Jan-Lennard Struff v Christopher Eubanks and Nicolas Jarry v Adrian Mannarino also headlines the draw as other ties to look out for. A draw that lost Alcaraz due to injury.

It was mooted that he was asking for 800k euros to play Vienna and while that tournament has attracted some of the best, Basel is very much those looking for form as well as some big names of yesteryear. But Rune will hope that it is a turning point week with Becker by his side.

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Nishi

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🇨🇭 The Basel ATP 500 (Swiss Indoors) tournament is played on indoor hard Greenset courts. (Main draw attached). 📊 Service stats: - 1st serve points won: 72.5% (2022) - Aces/game: 0.54 (2022) (The tournament was not held in 2020 and 2021) 🎙 Players' statements:

3:18 PM · Oct 21, 2023

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