Leading coach Patrick Mouratoglou has shared a story about Novak Djokovic’s “aura” from before a Grand Slam final in which the Serbian dismantled his great rival Rafael Nadal
At the 2019 Australian Open, Djokovic delivered a masterclass to crush Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match on Rod Laver Arena, a victory that saw him claim a seventh title at the Melbourne major.
In an interview for the Hellenic Championship YouTube channel last year, Djokovic picked that performance against Nadal as the finest of his staggering career.
“The best match I ever played would be, probably, the finals of the Australian Open against Nadal in 2019. The level of tennis was really high,” said the former world No 1.
Since Djokovic won a record-extending 24th major at the 2023 US Open, he has lost in two Slams finals, both to Carlos Alcaraz: at the 2026 Australian Open and the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
What did Patrick Mouratoglou say about Novak Djokovic?
In a post on LinkedIn, Mouratoglou backed Djokovic to find a way to win a 25th Grand Slam if he “wants it deeply.”
“What has never changed is this: Novak Djokovic is the strongest mental competitor in the history of tennis,” said Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep.
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“I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ll never forget an Australian Open final [in 2019] against Rafael Nadal. I was in the locker room, one meter away from them. Rafa was jumping, full of energy, doing his rituals.
“Novak was nowhere to be seen. Then the door opened. Novak walked in like a king. The aura. The eyes. You could feel it. He was on a mission. And he destroyed Rafa in straight sets. This is who Novak is.
“When Roger and Rafa were dominating the tour, most top players told me it was impossible to win a Grand Slam. Novak, at 19 years old, said publicly: ‘I’m going to beat them.’ People called it arrogance. It wasn’t. It was belief.
“And belief is what separates champions from legends. What is impossible to envision is impossible to do. It’s as simple as that. The champions are able to not foresee any limits within themselves. That’s the big difference.
“So the real question isn’t whether Novak Djokovic can win another Grand Slam. It’s whether he wants it deeply. If he does, he’ll most likely find a way.
“And if that fire truly comes back… who would you bet against him?”
Patrick Mouratoglou’s contentious claim involving Novak Djokovic
Mouratoglou’s latest comments come after he made a controversial claim following Djokovic’s Australian Open semi-final win against Jannik Sinner last month.
“For those who think that Djokovic beating Sinner in the semi-final of the Australian Open means that the Big Three (Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer) is playing better tennis than Alcaraz and Sinner — this is a very short view,” the Frenchman said in a video posted on his social media accounts.
“Novak is not a better tennis player than Sinner, but he’s the biggest competitor in the history and he was better than Jannik Sinner on that match.”
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