Patrick Mouratoglou’s claims about Novak Djokovic have set the tennis world ablaze, as the iconic coach claimed Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz were already better than the Serbian.
“Jannik is superior to Novak today in pure tennis terms. He moves faster. He hits harder. He takes the ball earlier. He serves better,” said Mouratoglou.
Andy Murray has reacted to Mouratoglou’s claims and Rafael Nadal also joined the debate by posting a laughing emoji under the tennis coach’s post.
As the debate rumbles on, legendary tennis coach Rick Macci has slammed another Mouratoglou opinion surrounding Djokovic.
Rick Macci criticises Patrick Mouratoglou’s ‘dig’ at Novak Djokovic
On social media, Rick Macci waded into the debate about Djokovic’s chances of winning a 25th Grand Slam.
Patrick Mouratoglou claimed Djokovic was ‘not motivated enough’ to win a 25th major following his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final.
Serena Williams’ former coach, Macci, however, took issue with the coach’s point of view and took to X to share his opinion on the matter.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
“[I] was asked about Mouratoglou’s latest silly dig that Novak is not motivated enough to win another Slam and he only wants people to talk about him,” wrote Macci.
“[He is] half right but wrong person. He is unreal motivated to win another slam and Patrick [Mouratoglou] wants people to talk about him.”
Plenty of former professionals have stepped in to defend Djokovic’s legacy, following his remarkable run at the top.
Why Greg Rusedski still thinks Novak Djokovic is the ‘GOAT’
There have been plenty of claims from pundits and fans that Alcaraz can now be considered better than Djokovic, following his youngest male Career Grand Slam feat at the Australian Open.
Former British number one, Greg Rusedski, however, is still backing Djokovic as his pick for ‘greatest of all time’.
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
Speaking on his podcast, he said: “You have to define it by something. Numbers, longevity, the era you played in. So let’s look at Novak Djokovic’s story. And that’s why I call him the GOAT.”
Djokovic can arguably be considered the best-ever tennis player by most metrics, but his 24 Grand Slams will keep him on top of the pile unless it’s beaten.
With Alcaraz having to compete with Jannik Sinner, he will have to be very impressive to win 18 more Grand Slams to topple Djokovic.
