Boris Becker reacts to Novak Djokovic commending Holger Rune's decision to hire German as his coach

Tennis great Boris Becker recently reacted to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic commending Holger Rune's decision to hire him as a coach.

Becker and Rune joined hands just a week ago as the Dane prepared to start his campaign at the 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel. Their partnership began after Rune had a streak of poor tournament results and split with former coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

They enjoyed a successful debut tournament together in Basel, where the 20-year-old reached the semifinals of the ATP 500 event before being defeated by eventual champion Felix Auger Aliassime.

Novak Djokovic, who was guided by Boris Becker to six of his 24 Grand Slam titles, has now weighed in on his former coach mentoring the youngster. He said in a pre-tournament press conference at the 2023 Paris Masters:

"I think it's a very good decision from Holger to invite Boris to join his team. Boris is legend of our sport, someone that, you know, understands the game so well from a player's perspective, coaching perspective. He's been around the game for so many years. He's seen and played against different players in different generations."

"Incredibly intelligent, smart man, very confident, obviously composed. You know, he was famous for his mental strength and ability to come up with his best game when he was facing the biggest pressure," he added.

Boris Becker then took to his Instagram stories to thank Djokovic for his kind words, writing:

"Thanks Brother."

Boris Becker via Instagram stories

Although their professional relationship ended in 2016, the Serb continues to look up to his former coach. He even helped Becker's family when the German went to prison.

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Novak Djokovic was denied his seventh Paris Masters title by Holger Rune

Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune pictured with their Paris Masters trophies

Novak Djokovic has a remarkable record in the Paris Masters, having won the tournament twice as many times as anyone else (six), with his most recent title coming in 2021. He also reached the summit clash last year, but Holger Rune beat him in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

The Serb is now looking forward to winning his record-seventh title at the 2023 edition of the tournament, which will be held from October 30 to November 5.

The 36-year-old is the top seed at the last Masters 1000 tournament of the year, with Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev being the second and third seeds, respectively.