Novak Djokovic came very close to winning his 25th Grand Slam title and the 11th in Melbourne, reaching the Australian Open final but ultimately losing to World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in four sets. Tennis coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, shared his view on the foremost hurdle between the Serb and another Major title.
Mouratoglou’s assessment comes at a time when he is facing major heat from some top names in the tennis fraternity after stating that to think Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were not better than the Big-3 is an understatement, since no one should be making comparisons between these groups solely because Djokovic had defeated Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals.
In his latest analysis, Mouratoglou identified the biggest hurdle for the Serb, who has failed to win that elusive 25th Grand Slam title for over 2 years now. Djokovic has not won a single Grand Slam title since 2023, when he won three of the four.
“The only obstacle that prevents Novak from winning Grand Slams is his motivation. I don’t think he’s motivated enough for the 25th; otherwise, I think he would have done it. He was crazy motivated for the Olympic Games. He won the gold medal by beating Alcaraz in the final. He’s done everything to achieve his goals all his life. He wanted to be the best of all time. He is undoubtedly the best of all time,” Mouratoglou said.
“Every time he went to a Grand Slam, he was ready to win. Now he’s not, so he doesn’t expect to go. Why? Not the age, not the level of tennis. Because he’s fit, if he practices and prepares, he can play. Of course, he doesn’t recover as well as before, but he can make the matches easy until at least the quarters or the semis to win. Novak is the strongest mentally in history,” he added.
Novak Djokovic to Headline a Star-Studded Field at the Doha Open
After the heartbreaking loss in the Australian Open final, Djokovic has taken some much-needed time off court before resuming play on the ATP circuit. Despite not playing a single warm-up event in the lead-up to the first Grand Slam of the year, he made it to the final, which is a testament to his consistency and determination.
Now, the 38-year-old is geared up to feature in his maiden ATP event of 2026, as he will be competing alongside the top two seeds, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, at the Doha Open in Qatar, starting from February 16.
This will be Djokovic’s only appearance on the Middle East swing, as he will then head to America to play the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, starting March 2.
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