Holger Rune improves flexibility during annual Monte Carlo practice with Novak Djokovic

Holger Rune takes his clay-court warm-ups very seriously, taking tips from an expert for what has become an annual tradition with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Before the first Masters 1000 of the clay-court swing begins, Rune and Djokovic took to the practice court to hit, stretch, and take a selfie—their third in the last four years, dating back to Rune's debut 2021 season. They grow up so fast!

Djokovic has been off the court since withdrawing from the Miami Open last month, planning to make Monte Carlo his first match after his early exit from Indian Wells, where he endured a shock defeat to Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi.

Rune is similarly in search of inspiration after his own disappointing loss in Miami after feeling under the weather against eventual quarterfinalist Fabian Marozsan.

Though Djokovic has happily served as a mentor to Rune off the court, their on-court rivalry is among the fiercest in the men’s game: Djokovic owns a slight 3-2 edge in their head-to-head, but Rune won their most recent clay-court encounter last May in Rome.

Can the Dane pull off another impressive stretch this spring? How will Djokovic slide into the clay swing?