"The real question is, how long is he gonna play Rafa?" - Patrick Mouratoglou on why Novak Djokovic can win up to 10 Grand Slams in the next 3-4 years
Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently talked at length about Novak Djokovic's potential return to next year's Australian Open. He also claimed that the Serb could win up to 10 Grand Slams more by the time he retires.
Djokovic missed the previous edition of the Australian Open because of his unvaccinated status, and he was also slapped with a three-year visa ban. But the 35-year-old has now been given the green light to return, with the Australian government setting his visa ban.
Patrick Mouratoglou, as most tennis fans would know, is a French tennis coach who has coached former World No. 1s like Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Coco Gauff. He is currently coaching Holger Rune.
The 52-year-old took to Instagram to post a video expressing his thoughts on the recent developments in the Djokovic fiasco. Calling the overturning of the visa ban "big news in the tennis world," Mouratoglou said Djokovic's participation in three Grand Slams next year (US Open participation still in doubt due to his unvaccinated status) has the potential to change the history of the game.
"Big news in the tennis world, Novak Djokovic is allowed to play at the Australian Open so probably he will be able to play three grand slams minimum next year. That changes completely, potentially the history of the game because Novak is the one who is winning the most Grand Slams for a few years except in 2020 because Wimbledon was cancelled but otherwise he is scoring between two and three grand Slams every year," Mouratoglou said.
Mouratoglou also opined that if the 35-year-old played for three or four more years, he might end up winning six to 10 Grand Slams by the end of his career.
"So if he plays three of four more years and is able to win two to three Grand Slams then he can score between three to ten more Grand Slams. Can you imagine? It is unbelievable," Mouratoglou said.
Mouratoglou went on to question whether Rafael Nadal, the biggest rival of Novak Djokovic, would play long enough to challenge the Serb. The Frenchman also wondered whether the younger generation would be able to produce strong enough tennis to "prevent" the Serb from winning more Grand Slams.
"And the real question is how long is he gonna play Rafa, which is a big question and will the young generation, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, all this generation and Zverev and the younger generation, Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Sinner. Will they be able to win Grand Slams and in a way prevent Novak from winning 2 to 3 per year. That are the questions that are so interesting in the future and now because he can play the Grand Slam we are so excited to witness that," Mouratoglou concluded.
Novak Djokovic qualifies for last four at ATP Finals
Seeded seventh at the ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic won all of his group-stage matches to qualify for the semifinals of the year-end championship.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner will take on Taylor Fritz in the semis on Saturday as he continues his quest for a record-tying sixth ATP Finals title. Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev, 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) in his last group-stage match on Friday.