"He did the same thing last year": Mouratoglou not shocked at Djokovic Monte-Carlo early exit

Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams, believes that Novak Djokovic's early defeat at the Monte-Carlo Masters does not change his chances at the French Open.

Djokovic was unable to complete the "sunshine double" by winning both the Indian Wells and Miami Masters, and instead started his clay court season early at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

After defeating Ivan Gakhov in the first round, Djokovic faced Italian player Lorenzo Musetti, who came back from a set down and surprisingly eliminated Djokovic.

The Serbian player was far from his usual level, committing 46 unforced errors and losing his serve 8 times. Mouratoglou shared his opinion on Djokovic's elimination in Monte-Carlo.

"I'm not worried about him. He did the same thing last year, he went through it in Monte-Carlo. I think it's costing him, these long periods without a match, when everyone else is confident," Mouratoglou reflected.

The French coach commented on the difficulty of maintaining training intensity when you do not have tournaments scheduled soon.

"He's just coming in. He doesn't have a reference. And even in terms of motivation, I'm not in his pocket. I don't know how he trains. But I know that when you know that you don't have a tournament for two months, going to train every day is not easy," he said.

Mouratoglou added that not being able to compete in the "sunshine double" affected Djokovic, but he believes that he will arrive in good form for the French Open.

"The recovery is not easy. I have no doubt about his level of play in the Grand Slams. After that, the only danger is that the young players are progressing more and more. His current level of play is mainly the consequence of his absence in Indian Wells and Miami,” added Mouratoglou.

Djokovic will be the top seed this week at the 2023 Srpska Open, where his brother is the tournament director. In his debut match, he will have to wait for the winner between Luca Van Assche and Stan Wawrinka.