Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune had a fantastic season. The Spaniard ended 2022 at the top of the rankings at just 19 years of age after claiming his first slam title at the recent US Open. Rune also had a great year, finishing ranked number 11 after conquering 3 main titles at the ATP level, including the ATP1000 in Bercy.
Coach Mouratoglou about their success
Rune is currently coached by Patrick Mouratoglou who used to mentor Serena Williams for many years. Patrick had an interesting point saying that the new generation (ie. Alcaraz, Rune, Felix Auger Aliassime, etc) is luckier than the previous one, represented by the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev, because it did not have to face Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in their prime.
“The generation of Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Rublev, etc. was unlucky because they had to deal with prime Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic,” Patrick said. “The younger generation, in the form of Rune, Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime, has not had to deal with this at the moment, so they still believe that they can do anything. This is their advantage. They lost a lot in the games against them. It hurt their confidence a little.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2022
At the moment ranked no.1, the Spaniard played his last match on the 4th of November when he had to retire when playing against world no.11 Holger Rune in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-3 6-6 .
This season Alcaraz has achieved a 57-13 record. Alcaraz has won 5 titles in 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona, Madrid and U.S. Open. The Spaniard was the finalist in Hamburg and Umag.
Holger Rune in 2022
Ranked no.11, Holger played his last match on the 6th of November when he overcame world no.5 Novak Djokovic 3-6 6-3 7-5 in the final in Paris to win his 3rd career title.
Currently, during this year the Dane has achieved a composed 50-27 record. Holger clinched 4 titles in 2022 in the Sanremo Challenger, Munich, Stockholm and Paris. Holger was the runner-up in Sofia and Basel.
Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune faced off just 2 times. The head to head is 1-1. The last time they played each other, Holger Rune won 6-3 6-6 ret. in the quarter in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) on the 4th
of November 2022.Here are the highlights.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022
Currently ranked no.4, Stefanos played his last match on the 18th of November when he capitulated to world no.8 Andrey Rublev 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the round robin in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
Currently, during this year the Greek has a 59-24 record. Tsitsipas has won 2 titles in 2022 in Monte-Carlo and Mallorca. The Greek was the runner-up in Rotterdam, in Rome, in Cincinnati, in Astana and in Stockholm.
Daniil Medvedev in 2022
Now ranked no.7, the Russian played his last match on the 18th of November when he lost to world no.5 Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-7(5) 7-6(2) in the round robin in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This season the Russian has a 45-19 record. The Russian has won 2 titles in 2022 in Los Cabos and Vienna. Medvedev was the finalist at the Australian Open, in Hertogenbosch and in Halle.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev played each other 11 times. The head to head is 7-4 for Medvedev. The last time they squared off, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3 6-7(11) 7-6(1) in the round robin in Turin (Nitto ATP Finals) on the 16th of November 2022.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune |
| Embed from Getty Images |