Patrick Mouratoglou Questions Novak Djokovic’s Decision to Play Tournaments He Didn’t ‘Care’ to Win
Novak Djokovic lost both his first two clay-court tournaments of the season without winning a set.
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Patrick Mouratoglou and Novak Djokovic (via Tennis365,X/The Tennis Letter)
Novak Djokovic, before starting his clay swing, had made it clear that he did not expect anything from himself at the Monte Carlo Masters. He said a similar thing when he was gearing up for the Madrid Open.
In these two tournaments, the 24-time Grand Slam champion failed to win even a set, losing to Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi in the two opening rounds. Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, questioned why the Serb needed to feature in these tournaments he did not even care to win.
I was very surprised watching Novak compete in Monte Carlo and Madrid. Not by the level, we all know what he’s capable of. But by the attitude. He just didn’t look like he wanted to win. He didn’t even look like he cared to win.
Patrick Mouratoglou wrote on LinkedIn
Djokovic is searching for his first title since winning the Paris Olympics last year. Since clinching his career’s first Olympic gold, he has progressed to just two finals (both Masters 100): the Shanghai Masters and the Miami Open.
After his Madrid Open exit, the 37-year-old decided to withdraw from the Italian Open. He skipped the last European clay-court Masters 1000 of the season for the first time since 2007. If he wins another tournament, he will become the third man to take home 100 or more trophies after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.
Jim Courier reacts after Novak Djokovic ends partnership with Andy Murray
On Tuesday (May 13), Novak Djokovic announced on social media that he parted ways with Andy Murray. Djokovic added Murray to his team last November and their first tournament was the Australian Open where Nole reached the semifinals but an injury forced him to give a walkover to World No.2 Alexander Zverev after losing the first set.
Under Murray, Djokovic’s best performance came at the Miami Open as he made it to the final. But he couldn’t take home his 100th singles because youngster Jakub Mensik defeated him to win his first ATP trophy.
Djokovic then went on to lose his opening-round matches in Monte Carlo and Madrid. He was expected to work with the three-time Grand Slam champion at least till Wimbledon where last year, he lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz. Four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier has now given his verdict on the split.
Where does this leave Novak now? Did he ever really need a coach? No. Did he need motivation? Does this provide a spark now? If you’re him you just have to be looking for motivation because it seems like his health is where it needs to be, his tennis is not where he wants it to be.
Jim Courier told Tennis Channel
Djokovic hired Murray after ending his partnership with Goran Ivanisevic in March last year. About five months later, the Scot called time on his career at the Paris Olympics, and in November then, Nole sent shockwaves through the tennis world when he announced he would be working with Murray.
The second Major of the season, the French Open, is scheduled to start on May 25, and Djokovic, before starting his bid for his 25th Major, will be playing the Geneva Open to get some match practice. He played the tournament last year as well but his campaign was ended by Tomas Machac in the semifinals.
Last year at Roland Garros, Djokovic set up a quarterfinal clash with two-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud but an injury forced him to withdraw from the match. Because of his subpar performances, Djokovic also dropped to No.6 position on the rankings table after Britain’s Jack Draper campaign in the Madrid Open (reached the final).
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