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Holger Rune on Trying to Get Andy Murray as Coach Before Djokovic

2024-12-06

24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is all set to make a significant change to his coaching team as the 2025 season approaches. After a rare trophyless season on the ATP Tour, this move has shocked the tennis world. Djokovic is set to be accompanied by Andy Murray for the Australian Open and beyond, with the Brit joining his coaching setup. The pair had a thrilling rivalry in tennis, with Djokovic winning the head-to-head 25-11 and beating Murray in five Grand Slam finals. Murray also achieved his own success, taking down Djokovic in both the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon finals. Now, with the two set to join forces, an ATP star has revealed whether he tried to bring Murray into his coaching team before Djokovic did.

Holger Rune Reveals His Thoughts

Speaking ahead of the UTS Finals in London, former world number four Holger Rune shared his thoughts on the news of Murray and Djokovic teaming up. "That was very surprising," he said. "First, I was super surprised seeing it, but Novak [Djokovic] didn't have a trainer, so he needed one. I didn't expect him to call Andy [Murray], but I think it's interesting. Andy is a very intelligent player, so I think he has a lot of great strategies they can communicate with each other. I think it's going to be good; I am happy for those two. They have been big competitors against each other, so I think they are very close also."When asked if he had tried to convince the Brit to join his coaching team before Djokovic made the move, Rune answered, "No. I have been in the mix to sign a lot of coaches but no. It's come to a stage where I am just going to keep it simple now and go back to keep on improving and doing what I am used to to try and achieve my goals."

What Happened to Holger Rune on the ATP Tour in 2024?

After reaching a career-high ranking of fourth in the world in 2023, Rune finished this season outside of the world's top ten as he struggled for form at times. Looking back, Rune admitted that he didn't deserve to reach world number four. However, the Dane will no doubt be looking to return to the top of the ATP rankings as soon as possible. It was certainly a down year for the 21-year-old, but he did reach the Paris Masters semi-finals and finished the year on a high.YearYear-end rankingBest Grand Slam resultBest Masters 1000 resultATP titles2024134R – French Open, WimbledonSF – Cincinnati, Paris020238QF – French Open, WimbledonF – Monte-Carlo, Rome1202211QF – French OpenW – Paris320211031R – US Open1R – Indian Wells, Miami0

Comparing Every Season in Holger Rune's Career

Losing before the quarter-final stage of each of the four Grand Slams was a big disappointment for Rune, as he had become familiar with reaching the last eight in recent times. There was also a step-back in performance at the Masters 1000 events, as he fell further from the form he showed in Paris two years ago.Rune burst onto the scene in Bercy in 2022, remarkably taking down five top-ten players in one week on his way to the title. Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Djokovic all fell to the Dane. He will no doubt be looking to rediscover that form as he heads into the new year on the ATP Tour. Rune is set to return to action at the Brisbane International, which begins on December 30, where he was runner-up in 2024.