Novak Djokovic told he 'shouldn't be playing' as accusation aimed at Serb

Famous tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou questioned whether should be playing if he's not motivated and accused him of 'not even trying' in his comfortable defeat to Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was bounced out of the Round of 64 last month, suffering consecutive defeats in back-to-back tournaments, having also lost at the Monte-Carlo Masters to Alejandro Tabilo earlier in April.

Without an ATP tournament win since winning the Tour Finals in late 2023, Djokovic is in the midst of an uncharacteristic title drought. In recent years, he has had to contend with injuries and the rise of and . Following his defeat in the Spanish capital, , a tournament he's won a staggering six times.

His decision not to compete at an event he's been wholly successful at left Mouratoglou and four-time Grand Slam winner Jim Courier baffled as the former claimed the Serbian should not be playing after taking aim at his motivation for the sport.

Mouratoglou - who coached Serena Williams for a decade and is the current coach of Naomi Osaka - said: "I was surprised by his performance in Monte Carlo and then in Madrid. It's like that for a guy like him, if he doesn't have the motivation, then he shouldn't even be playing, because it seemed like he wasn't even trying to win."

"I'm not saying he's not capable of playing better, he certainly is, but I feel like he's physically not ready," he added. "Tennis-wise, physically, for such tournaments, especially because there is no motive. The question arises, why did he play them then? I don't understand that. Motivation is a big thing for him, everything revolves around that and I've been saying that for a while."

Mouratoglou questioned whether Djokovic can afford to play a lesser schedule in order to place greater importance on competing in the Grand Slams. "After a great year in 2023, he was far from his level last season, except for the Olympics," the Frenchman said. "He obviously needs to have one goal to focus on. The question is, can he allow himself not to play matches and prepare for the Grand Slams? Nothing can replace playing matches.

"Of course he doesn't have to play a lot, but he has to have at least a few matches that will give him the right attitude. Thinking like, 'I'm going to a Grand Slam and everything will suddenly be fine', that's a real gamble. I question his decision not to play."

Courier, who once held the record of being the youngest man in the Open Era to appear in the final of all four singles majors at 22 years and 11 months, called the Serb's decision to pull out "weird" in what is a crossroads in Djokovic's 22-year professional career.

"Tournaments on three won sets probably allows Novak to go somehow through the draw and reach the round of 16, provided he is healthy," the American said. "It seems like he is, but it's kind of really weird that he won't be playing in Rome, which leaves me in a state of complete confusion. I cannot understand such a decision."