Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of Serena Williams, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and others, has been one of the most ardent students of the sport. His analyses have been spot on and recently he shared his two cents on the upcoming clay season and the French Open.

Rafael Nadal is the undisputed king of clay and has won the Roland Garros title a whopping 13 times. But, Mouratoglou takes the current circumstances into account to reveal who is his favorite for the French Open. The French coach elaborated on how the tournament might also be a key to how the rest of the year pans out for Rafael Nadal and for Novak Djokovic, who never ceases to be a real threat when he is playing.

“If you think about Roland Garros now, you can think that is the most open for the last 10-15 years,” Mouratoglou said. He also elaborated on how the French Open might be the game-changer given the circumstances concerning Nadal and Djokovic and how next-gen stars can capitalize over the same.

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“So this is a key, what’s going to happen in the next weeks with Novak will give us a taste of the chances of Novak and Rafa in Roland Garros, which as I said is a key and they might be a joker who can be maybe Alcaraz maybe Stefanos, maybe someone else we’ll see,” he said.

Mouratoglou thinks Novak Djokovic is the best

Novak Djokovic often practices at the Mouratoglou Academy. Thus, Patrick has seen him up close, and knows Novak’s game inside out. He thinks Novak Djokovic, under normal circumstances, is the best player around. “I know it’s weird to say that when you see the number of Roland Garros that Rafa has won, but if you look at the figures, Novak beat Rafa many times on clay, many many times,” opined the French coach.

He also factored in the extraneous circumstances that both Nadal and Djokovic are facing right now. While Djokovic was forced to not participate in several tournaments owning to his vaccination status, he managed to reach the quarterfinals in Dubai, where he was allowed to play. So, he has not had enough match practice and that is crucial to one’s form at the major tournaments.

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Rafael Nadal started his 2022 season with a bang by winning his 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. He also won at Acapulco and was the clear favorite for the clay season. However, he sufferred a stress-induced fracture in his rib at the Indian Wells Masters.

According to Patrick Mouratoglou, this will affect Nadal’s plans and his schedule for the clay season. The French coach concluded by saying that according to him, Djokovic had a better shot of equaling Rafa’s Grand Slam record in the second Grand Slam of the season.