“This Novak Djokovic Is Beatable”: Serena Williams’ Former Coach on When US Open Champion Is Vulnerable

Novak Djokovic continues to motor along virtually unchallenged even today. He added three Grand Slam titles to his kitty in 2023, reclaiming his World No.1 position. Doing all this at the age of 36 is no mean feat. Despite his achievements, Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, believes Djokovic is more beatable now, especially if he follows a certain mentality.

Mouratoglou is not the first coach to claim that Djokovic was more threatening some years ago than now. Recently, Toni Nadal echoed similar sentiments. The French coach, however, commands a large following for his analysis, and his comments on Djokovic have piqued interest.

Novak Djokovic beatable when he plays with negative mindset, says Mouratoglou

Djokovic downed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win the 2023 US Open, his 24th Grand Slam title. This moved him to the top of the all-time list, level with Margaret Court. Mouratoglou believed in Grand Slam finals, there are two possible versions of Djokovic. One plays to win and the other plays to avoid a loss. He implied that the Serb lost the Wimbledon final because he played with the latter mentality, which is when he becomes beatable.

Mouratoglou opined that the Serb dominated the final in New York because he played to win. He said Djokovic is the best player when he plays for victory. But when the World No.1 plays to avoid defeat, he becomes beatable. Mouratoglou said that the eventual champion came to ‘conquer’ and walked away with the US Open trophy.

“There are two Novaks in Grand Slam finals. There’s the Novak who comes to conquer, and when he plays his best, he’s the best player in the world. And there’s the Novak who comes not to lose; this one is beatable – he’s extremely difficult to beat – but he is beatable. In that final, he came to conquer and he did.”

With age catching up to him, Djokovic has employed the serve-and-volley tactics to rush his opponents and not let points stretch out. The four-time US Open champion has used this technique quite often this year, and also did so in the final against Medvedev. Mouratoglou touched upon this, saying Djokovic used it at crucial moments when his opponent was at the baseline, adding how the Serb rushed to the net to shorten points.

“He used serve and volley much, much more. It’s something that he’s added to his game lately. On most key points he served and volleyed, he took advantage of the fact that Daniil was so far back and he scored most of the points. He also came to the net a lot more, to shorten the points.”

Djokovic won first match after US Open 2023 final

Djokovic kept his winning momentum after the US Open. After being rested for the first Davis Cup group stage game against South Korea, the 24-time Grand Slam champion was back on court against hosts Spain. In the hot conditions in Valencia, he beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets to win the tie for Serbia. The host nation was considerably weakened after Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the squad. The east European nation, meanwhile, have ensured qualification for the Final 8 stage in November.

Serbia will next face Czechia to determine who finishes atop Group C. It is not confirmed whether Djokovic will feature in the singles fixture or not. With both teams assured of advancing to the final stage, the World No.1 may be rested again. With two ATP Masters events and the ATP finals coming up, Djokovic, locked in a tussle for the year-end No.1 with Alcaraz, has quite some tennis to go before 2023 ends.