Mouratoglou: Djokovic shouldn't have competed at all, Osaka played at a Top 5 level last week

Recently, the current coach of Japan's Naomi Osaka, Moratoglou, talked about Djokovic's current situation in an interview, and praised his disciple's recent excellent performance in lower divisions.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion's overall performance has been dull this year, and despite making it all the way to the final at the Miami Masters, the defeat in the final seemed to be a huge psychological blow to the Serb, who went on to go on to win the first games in Monte Carlo and Madrid. In this regard, the tennis coach said that he is very surprised by Djokovic's performance so far, and he believes that the Serbian is now completely uninterested in fighting on the court, but if he is not ready, then he should not continue to play at all.

"I was very surprised to see Novak's performance in Monte Carlo and Madrid. A player like him shouldn't be on the pitch if he doesn't have the motivation to play. He even seems to have no intention of winning. I'm not questioning his quality, of course he can play better, but I don't feel like he's physically ready because he doesn't seem to have the fighting spirit. Of course, this is purely an objective observation. The famous head of the religion commented.

As for Djokovic's current situation, Moratoglou believes that the key question is whether Djokovic still has enough motivation in his heart. The big question, he says, is: why did Djokovic insist on competing? He bluntly said that this choice did not make him understand.

In fact, it's not just the famous coach who doesn't understand, but many fans don't understand some of Djokovic's schedule this year. After withdrawing from the Australian Open semi-finals due to injury, there was speculation that Djokovic could retire from the Middle East season and recuperate for at least four to six weeks, and not return until Indian Wells at the earliest. But in the end, Djokovic still appeared in Doha despite the doubts of public opinion, and he was out of the tournament for the first time.

The same happened after this year's Miami Masters final, where redness and swelling caused by a bacterial infection in the eye led to widespread belief that it would be better for the Serbian to postpone his clay-court debut and use the time to fully heal from his injury. But in the end, Djokovic still played in Monte Carlo and also went out in the first game. After all, the environment in Rome is very similar to the French Open, and if there is a good performance, it can boost morale, but now that such a good warm-up opportunity is missed, the prospects of the French Open will become blurred.

In this regard, the famous coach believes that the biggest problem for Djokovic now is that he seems to have lost motivation in the game. He admits that after a fantastic 2023 season, he has always been far from his best except during the Olympics (last year), and the key problem is that Djokovic's own lack of motivation and desire to win, and he must understand that if he is not determined to fight, it is better not to compete.

Obviously, he now needs to be clear about his goals to stay focused and motivated. But now that he's out of Rome, will he still be ready for the French Open? You must know that actual combat cannot be replaced after all. Mouratoglou said.

In addition, Mouratoglou also talked about the recent performance of his protégé, Naomi Osaka. The Japanese star has had a poor comeback since her comeback, and recently she has made a bold decision: she wants to play in some lower divisions to boost her confidence. For Naomi Osaka's move, many fans think that this is completely "condescending to dignity", and some fans even bluntly said that it doesn't have to be like this.

In response, Mouratoglou strongly supported his disciple's decision, saying: "A champion is a champion. This win was hard-won for a number of reasons: firstly, Naomi Osaka came to the tournament with memories of Madrid's first-round exit, which is always a blow to confidence; Secondly, clay has never been her forte; In the end, and in a way this is a 125K event, she simply can't afford to lose, because she lacked clay experience before. Now she's done with the puzzle, and that's great. ”

The head coach was very proud of Naomi Osaka's performance at Saint-Malo 125K, saying, "She's great right now and I'm sure she can play well on clay." In some moments of this week's competition, she has undoubtedly been in the top five in the world! ”

Finally, according to the schedule of the Rome tennis tournament, Naomi Osaka will face Errani today, and if he can advance, he will face the Spanish beauty Badosa in the next round, what will happen, let's wait and see!(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lu Xiaotian)