Novak wasn’t ready for Rafa challenge: Mouratoglou

Legendary coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes Novak Djokovic wasn’t ready to challenge Nadal last Sunday in the French Open Men’s singles final at Roland Garros.

You could feel something wrong because he was looking for easy points, trying drop shots here and there, like those four drop shots in the first game,” Mouratoglou said.

“Novak wasn’t prepared to rally and go for it and hit winners to give himself the chance to win that match.”

But Nadal was ready. “Rafa knew what he had to do right from the start, choosing the right tactic that secured the title for him,” he said.

Back to Djokovic and according to Mouratglou, ‘Novak didn’t enter the court playing with the same mindset as the one we know’.

“It happens to everyone,” he said. “That’s why tennis is interesting because it’s not only about entering and playing your match there are many other aspects. The mental aspect is huge.”