Holger Rune has reportedly hired Marco Panichi, the fitness trainer who left Jannik Sinner’s team days before Wimbledon started. Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio, who previously worked with Novak Djokovic, joined the world No. 1’s team last year. But Sinner confirmed that he’d parted ways with both men before turning up to SW19.
Sinner still went on to lift his fourth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, overcoming an elbow injury without the help of his own personal fitness coach. And Panichi has also moved on, as he is set to start working with world No. 9 Rune next month.
According to Danish outlet BT, Rune’s mum and manager, Aneke, confirmed that Panichi will join the camp at next month’s Cincinnati Open.
“We will welcome Marco Panichi to the team. He brings enormous experience – not just in the physical aspect, but everything related to building a Grand Slam winner. That takes the idea up another notch,” Aneke said.
“We know Marco very well and have always had a really good relationship with him. And he has always liked Holger. He is in a special class, so it is a huge capacity to have in the team.
“The way he works, and the way he worked with Novak Djokovic, is very much the way we see a fitness coach in a team where he will also be active in training.”
Rune has worked with plenty of high-profile coaches in his time, including Boris Becker and Patrick Mouratoglou. But the 22-year-old went back to basics and has spent this season with Lars Christensen.
The five-time title winner also enjoyed a three-day training block with Andre Agassi ahead of this week’s ATP 500 event in Washington. Rune reached out to the retired tennis icon months ago and sees Agassi as more of a mentor.
After their brief stint on the practice courts, Rune told the ATP: “It was a really short period but definitely he gave me an insight of where he sees me in the future, where he sees me now and obviously there’s a lot of things to improve.
“He helped me to get my focus and my eyes on the right things, together with my coach Lars. It was really cool to spend some days with him.”
Sinner has yet to announce who his replacement fitness trainer and physiotherapist will be after parting ways with Panichi and Badio. Ahead of Wimbledon, the Italian confirmed they had split after the ATP 500 in Halle, where he suffered a shock loss in the round of 16.
“No, nothing major happened. Nothing big happened. I parted ways not long ago, but it’s not affecting me. I feel ready to compete. I feel free. I feel me and my team, we are ready to do the best we can,” he said.
“As I said, there’s not one specific thing. Nothing crazy happened. That’s for sure not. As I said, we made some great work. For me, the final in Roland Garros was an amazing achievement. That’s it. Look, in this sport, things can happen. There is nothing incredible, no, because sometimes a player feels something different, and that’s my case.”
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk