"I told her I would consider myself free if she didn't come" - Mouratoglou on split with Serena Williams

Patrick Mouratoglou explained at an event how Serena Williams and he split after working for several years together.

While speaking at a sports festival at Cluj Polyvalent, the Frenchman explained how his stint with Serena Williams came to an end. He revealed that he asked the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion about her plans for the season and whether she wanted to go to Roland Garros:

"I wanted to be fair to her and not be disappointed at the end of my career. I went to ask her what she was going to do. It wasn't very clear to her. I asked her if she wanted to go to Roland Garros. She told me he didn't know. It was six weeks before the tour. I told her I was waiting for her on Monday for training and if she didn't come I would consider myself free."

He said:

"After Serena decided to take a break, I confessed to my loved ones that I feel like I'm done with coaching. I knew that one of my strengths was that I had a lot of enthusiasm for my work. Without this enthusiasm, I can't be a good coach. I felt like I had lost it."

In the end Mouratoglou agreed to work with Simona Halep as she tries to reclaim her glory days.