"The less things that interfered the better": Boris Becker already leaving his mark on Holger Rune with cull of necklaces and caps on court

Holger Rune's mother revealed that Boris Becker is behind the decision for the tennis player not to wear a cap or necklaces on the court.

World No. 6 started working with the former German tennis player just a couple of weeks ago, and changes in Rune's behavior have already begun to emerge. The first and most noticeable change was that he managed to secure consecutive victories for the first time since Wimbledon in July of this year.

During this week's competition at the Swiss Indoors Open, it drew attention that Rune was without his customary cap. Although the young star played down its significance, citing it was to cope with the heat, Aneke Rune, the Danish player's mother and agent, revealed that this change is a result of Boris Becker's influence.

“Holger has tinkered with it every now and then, but Boris himself felt that way when he was playing, that the less things that interfered, the better,” she said.

“So no caps, necklaces and so on. Maybe Holger could nod in recognition to that,” Aneke Rune added.

When Rune was asked about the change in his attire, he took it in good humor and didn't give credit to Becker for the change.

“For those that don’t know, it’s extremely hot in this arena. So yesterday after the first set it was like, I was sweating a lot and I had to control it all the time so why not, let’s play without it and see what happens,” Rune said.

“It’s not that I’m superstitious but it’s working pretty well. It’s good to get some air for the hair as well if you want to have some hair when you’re 50,” he added.

This week, as the first seed at the Basel Open, Rune is showing improvements compared to the past few months. He secured victories over Miomir Kecmanovic and Sebastian Baez, earning a spot in the quarterfinals, where he will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Rune emphasized the influence of Becker on his current tennis form.

“It’s great to have Boris on the side, giving me advice. I was serving extremely well today. You know, it isn’t a secret where that might come from. But I’m happy with how I handled the situation.”