Holger Rune and Carlos Alcaraz recently have been spotted practicing together at the 2023 Canadian Open on Sunday, August 6. The Danish and Spanish sensations, who are both 20 years old, have been making waves on the ATP Tour with their impressive performances and achievements.
The 2023 Canadian Open is set to begin on August 8th in Toronto. Rune and Alcaraz are seeded first and fifth respectively. Both the player received a bye in their first rounds.
Rune’s mother Aneke posted a story of her son and Carlos Alcaraz practicing together on her Instagram account on Sunday, August 7. The clip showed the two players hitting some rallies.
“Wow 🤩 practice with the 2 best youngsters in the world @holgerrune @carlitosalcarazz,” the caption reads.
The two youngsters have faced each other three times on the tour, with Alcaraz leading the head-to-head 2-1. Their most recent encounter was in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where Alcaraz prevailed in straight sets.
“There is over a 50% chance that we have never heard of Carlos Alcaraz’s greatest rival” – Tennis analyst
Carlos Alcaraz has been ruling the tennis world with his remarkable achievements and consistency this year.
Many wonder who will be the biggest challenge for Alcaraz in the future. Some names that have been mentioned are Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev.
But according to tennis expert Gill Gross, there is a possibility that Alcaraz’s greatest rival is someone who has not yet emerged in the limelight.
“That is such a pitfall that we go into. And Carlitos being 20, it completely skews our perception of who Alcaraz is going to be competing with — in order for him to have great success throughout his career,” Gross said in the Match Analysis podcast.
“There is, in my estimation, over a 50% chance that Alcaraz’s is greatest rival in his career, we have never heard of. We have never heard of that player. It’s over 50% chance that that is the case,” he continued.
Gross also said that Alcaraz’s biggest rival could be one of the current top-10 players, such as Holger Rune. But he pointed out that there are many young and talented players who are likely to emerge in the future.
“It might be Holger Rune, who we’ve heard of. But you gotta remember that more people are gonna come along. And we don’t know what those people are gonna look like,” Gill Gross said.
Only time will tell, on how both the young sensation deliever on court in the near future.
