24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic gave an exceptional performance and won against defending champion Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal on Friday. Patrick Mouratoglou shared his opinion on what will keep the Serb motivated at this year’s Australian Open.
Fans and analysts called him lucky after Lorenzo Musetti, who was in control of the quarterfinal, retired due to an injury, thereby giving the Serb a record 54th semifinal berth at a Grand Slam. However, Djokovic proved his critics wrong in emphatic fashion by sealing a major upset over Sinner in a match that tested his mettle and mental tenacity.
Serena Williams’s and Naomi Osaka’s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, praised the Serb for his valiant run in Melbourne, defending his greatness and explaining why he believes the Serb will not retire from the sport even if he wins his record 25th Grand Slam title.
“I can hear people say that if Novak wins his 25th Grand Slam, he should stop. I don’t believe he’s going to do it. He’s going to want more. He’s going to think, Oh, but I’m back in the game now. I can beat them. I can win more Grand Slams. He has an expiry date in his head: the next Olympic Games. And I don’t think he’s going to play whatever happens,” Mouratoglou said.
“For him, it would be a huge relief to see that he can win a Grand Slam at 38, beating number two and number one in the world. You hear all types of comments on Novak. People who think he doesn’t play as well as he used to. That’s why he’s losing. I don’t believe it at all. It’s all about the drive and motivation that he lost after he became the greatest of all time, which was the goal of his life,” he added.
Furthermore, Mouratoglou gave his opinion on what he thought was the primary driving force behind the Serb’s motivation to beat Sinner in the semifinal on Friday, while slyly praising the journalist for creating a historic sequence of events.
“I know that if tomorrow the drive is back, he will beat those guys or at least match those guys every single time. Maybe something happened in the Australian Open. Perhaps it’s the journalists’ question from yesterday. He was really deeply hurt by that. Always chasing, but I have 24 Grand Slams,” Mouratoglou said.
“The fact that people see him as chasing others that are potentially better than him, rather than others chasing him, who’s the best of all time, really hurt him and his ego. And I think this match against Sinner can be a response. When you touch his ego, he’s stronger than ever. This journalist can be proud of himself. He made history,” he added.
Novak Djokovic Will Aim to Carry His Positive Momentum in the Australian Open Final Against Alcaraz
This will not be the first time the Serb has faced Carlos Alcaraz on hard courts, primarily at a Grand Slam event. Last year, the duo met twice on the hard courts, first in the Australian Open, where Djokovic dispatched the Spaniard at the quarterfinals stage, and the other time in the semifinals of the US Open, where Alcaraz avenged his loss in straight sets.
Overall, the Serb leads Alcaraz in head-to-head battle (5-4) and is also ahead in wins on hard and clay surfaces. Djokovic will be aiming to carry the positive momentum from his resounding semifinal win and his victory over Alcaraz at the same event last year.
While age will prove to be a huge factor, the 38-year-old has already proved that he can go the distance against a top young player and play at the highest intensity for more than four hours at a stretch.
It will be interesting to see how the two attempt to assert their dominance in the final on Sunday, who the Melbourne crowd backs more, and who is more opportunistic in capitalizing on the other’s errors as one chases a record 25th Grand Slam. In contrast, the other chases a career Grand Slam.
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