Novak Djokovic has revealed that he stayed in touch with Holger Rune after the former world No. 4 ruptured his Achilles tendon during a match in Stockholm last year, an incident the Serbian superstar described as "horrible to watch".
Rune's long-awaited return
Rune made his comeback during a Davis Cup tie last month, winning both of his matches against Grigor Dimitrov and Iliyan Radulov. However, he has yet to win an ATP Tour match since returning, losing in the first round of the Japan Open and the Shanghai Masters.
In Shanghai, Rune blew a convincing lead over Daniel Altmaier to bow out 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4. Despite the tough couple of weeks for the Danish star, Djokovic is just happy to see him back on the court.
Djokovic's support and advice
Djokovic believes the 23-year-old needs more time and matches to find his feet after recovering from "one of the worse injuries you can have". The 39-year-old said: "I'm very, very happy that he's back. I like Holger. I also like playing him. We always have great battles, really. I watched highlights of that match where he got injured and what happened and, you know, the replay of that. It was horrible to watch, honestly."
"I've been in touch with him several times while he was absent from the tour. We went back and forth on different topics. Of course, I've been keeping track on his return. I was very glad that he was able to come back and make his comeback at Davis Cup in his country, so that was very nice."
Rune was understandably frustrated after losing to Altmaier in Shanghai despite racing through the first set. But Djokovic knows the five-time title winner must be patient as he gets used to the demands of competitive matches again.
Patience and ranking impact
"I saw that last night he had a tough battle and tough loss. But, you know, it will take some time, I guess. It's really relative. It's very individual, you know," the world No. 8 added. "His injury is one of the worse injuries that you can have. It took him away for a year almost. The match play is completely different than any practice sets or, you know, practice competition that you are getting.
"I mean, it's really difficult to compare. Because the nerves kick in, and then, you know, you have your score being called. And then all of a sudden every shot, every point matters and you're afraid to miss. Then you get tense and stressed and that affects the whole game, right? So he just needs to get more matches going, and I hope that he is going to find his best game very soon."
Rune is set to fall outside of the world's top 1,200 when the Shanghai Masters is over, as he was defending quarter-finals points from last year. He can still use his protected ranking of No. 14 to enter tournaments, having spent 11 months on the sidelines.
