Patrick Mouratoglou, thinks Novak Djokovic's level is still good enough to challenge for Grand Slams and that a lack of motivation after surpassing Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer impacted him in 2024.
Fans and analysts have debated who is the greatest between Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer for years. The legendary trio dominated tennis until recently and are widely regarded as the best players ever.
How to measure greatness is subjective. Some argue it is purely down to the number of significant trophies won, while others think factors like attracting new fans to the sport and being a positive role model should be considered.
Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle and former long-term coach, caused controversy when he claimed that his nephew and Federer had earned a higher level of respect than Djokovic because of their conduct on the court.
Djokovic is undoubtedly the fieriest of the three players. He often argues with members of his team, fans, and umpires and sometimes smashes rackets. While some criticize this, others like how authentic the Serbian is during matches.
Although differing and legitimate opinions exist about which player is the greatest, Djokovic is now most regularly referred to with that title because he has won more Grand Slams and spent more weeks at No. 1 than his great rivals.
Federer retired at the 2022 Laver Cup after playing with Nadal in doubles. The Spaniard followed him into retirement at the Davis Cup Finals when the Netherlands eliminated Team Spain.
That means Djokovic, the most statistically successful player ever, is guaranteed to end his career with more significant honors than his two great rivals, a superb achievement after the battles the trio had.
Although Nadal did not retire until November, it was already very likely from the start of 2024 that Djokovic would end his career with more Grand Slams and weeks at No. 1 because of the 14-time French Open champion's repeated injury issues in the last two years.
Mouratoglou told Tennis Majors that Djokovic lacked motivation in 2024 after surpassing Nadal and Federer. The Frenchman pointed out that Djokovic's sole success came at the Olympics, where he was motivated to win the gold medal that had eluded him.
"I think the only thing that Novak needs is motivation. After he felt that Rafa was done at the start of 2024, he could not find motivation anymore. He didn't drop his level in two months, this is impossible."
"His motivation dropped because he won the fight between him, Roger, and Rafa. The only tournament where he played great was the Olympics, where he had so much motivation to win it. So, he needs motivation. He needs to find something to trigger inside himself that will make him want to win as bad as he's done all his career."
Djokovic recently appointed Andy Murray, the Serbian's other great rival along with Nadal and Federer, until at least the end of the Australian Open, which promises to make the year's opening Grand Slam even more interesting.
Whether Djokovic's bold move will inspire and motivate him enough to succeed in 2025 remains to be seen.
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