Patrick Mouratoglou has been in the news once again, but not for anything particularly impressive.
Instead, it was outlined that the French coach had parted ways with Holger Rune, for the second time in just under 12 months.
A relationship that never really seems to work out as hoped, the 52-year-old, who has enjoyed successful coaching stints with Serena Williams, Marcos Baghdatis and Stefanos Tsitsipas, can now return to seemingly what he does best: giving his verdict on all things tennis across various media platforms.
As a man never far from the spotlight despite having never played the game professionally himself, he has now provided an opinion on Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest to ever do it, speaking just after the recent split from Rune.
Patrick Mouratoglou makes Novak Djokovic prediction
Speaking on the Tennis Weekly podcast, Mouratoglou was asked about everything from the UTS to his recent termination with the world number 16.
Naturally, the latter topic dominated discussions given his recent it was, but attention did turn to Djokovic eventually.
Asked how many Grand Slam titles he thinks the 37-year-old will end his career on, with the legendary veteran just one away from standing alone at the top of the pile, Mouratoglou’s answer was short and sweet for the Serbian.
He simply noted: ‘That’s a tough question because my answer this year could be very different. I would say 28.’
Novak Djokovic is so desperately close to greatness
As briefly touched upon, just one Grand Slam title would allow Djokovic to move out alone at the top of the leaderboard for both men and women.
He is currently tied with Margaret Court on 24, having cruised past his two contemporary rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the greatest Grand Slam player in the men’s history, and only recently overcame Serena Williams’ tally of 23 with his US Open win last year.
Having struggled in Melbourne, Roland Garros and Wimbledon to take that final step in 2024, a return to New York marks his final opportunity of the year to overtake the Australian and announce himself as the true greatest of all time.
Ironically enough, he could kill two birds with one stone across the next few months, as this summer likely represents his final chance to finally snatch that coveted Olympic gold medal too.
Overcoming one of his long-time rivals just yesterday, prompting Rafael Nadal to admit that Djokovic is the GOAT, he will not rest until that notion is indisputable.
Winning now in Paris, and later at the US Open, would cement that legacy forever.
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