Holger Rune weighs in on why Novak Djokovic hired Andy Murray

Djokovic and Murray stunned the tennis world when the former rivals announced they would be teaming up in a powerhouse dream team for the opening Grand Slam of 2025.

This will be Murray's first foray into coaching and he could not be starting with a higher profile player, with Rune suggesting the move is evidence that the 37-year-old Djokovic still has fire in his belly for more Grand Slam glory.

The Serbian has already won a staggering 24 major titles, but he did not add to his total this year and has openly admitted his appetite for the game is waning.

Yet Rune, who has beaten Djokovic twice in their six meetings, suggests the decision to hire Murray will alert everyone in the men's locker room that the most successful player of them all still wants more.

"I'm sure it is his goal to win a couple more Grand Slams," said Rune, speaking at the UTS Grand Final in London. "This year his goal was to win the Olympics and he managed to do that. Maybe that was his only goal and after that, I don't know about his motivation.

"I'm sure now he wants to win more Grand Slams and we don't know what it will be like to have Murray in his corner.

"It's an interesting set-up, for sure. I don't think many of us would have seen it coming and it could be very good for both of them.

"Novak didn't have a coach, so he was looking for something new, but I didn't expect someone like Andy.

"I think this could be great. Andy is obviously a super intelligent guy and someone who has beaten Novak a few times and when I was thinking why have they come together, you realise they can talk about strategy.

"They will talk about how to beat the best players and as they both have a very high IQ in tennis, it's going to be very interesting to see.

"Of course, if I played against Novak in Australia, I will try to beat him."

Rune has had plenty of coaches since he exploded into the men's game with a win at the Paris Masters in 2022 and when he was asked if he had a dream coach to work with, he picked one of Djokovic's greatest rivals.

"I don't need another coach right now, to be honest," he said with a smile. "I'm a massive fan of Roger Federer, so why not! But I don't think he's into coaching right now."

Djokovic has admitted even he was surprised to make  the call to hire Murray, but he explained his options were limited as he looked for a potential coach who could offer him the kind of advice he needs at this stage of his career.

"I was going through a process of thinking about next season in the last couple of months," Djokovic told Sky Sports last month.

"I was trying to figure out what I need at this stage of my career because I stopped with my (former) coach Goran Ivanisevic, who I was very successful with and worked for many years, in March.

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