“At the top, you don’t have the right to fail” – Mouratoglou on Sinner’s next challenge
Coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes that Sinner will face a whole new challenge now that he has become world No 1
Jannik Sinner, Roland-Garros 2024 – © Federico Pestellini / Panoramic
With Jannik Sinner ascending to the No 1 position in the ATP rankings this coming Monday, Patrick Mouratoglou believes that the Italian is going to face a whole new challenge, as he said on his Instagram account on Friday. The complete video will be released on Tennis Majors.
“I’ve been with Serena [Williams] in that position for a long time,” said Mouratoglou, who coached the 23-time Grand Slam champion between 2012-2022.
“I know exactly how it feels for the player to be in the position of the No 1 in the world,” he continued. “When you are at the top, you don’t have the right to fail anymore.
“So it’s not going to be easy for him. The first challenge was to reach No 1. The second challenge, which is a completely different one, is to stay No 1.”
Mouratoglou optimistic about Sinner’s reign as No 1
That Sinner made it to the top of the rankings comes as no surprise to Mouratoglou, who believes that the Italian has clearly been the best performer this season.
“It’s not a surprise that Jannik Sinner reaches the No 1 spot in the world. He’s the best player in the world by far since January,” declared Mouratoglou
“Now, what meaning does it have? It just means that he’s dominating tennis. He has both the game to dominate tennis, and also the mindset.
“He’s quite relaxed and very much into it at the same time, which is the perfect combination,” continued Mouratoglou. “You cannot do anything great without being 100 percent into it. But if you’re into it and it brings a lot of anxiety, it can play against you.”
Despite the shift in pressure for Sinner now that he’s becoming world No 1 on Monday, Mouratoglou is confident the 22-year-old will be able to navigate the fresh levels of expectation.
“He doesn’t have that [anxiety],” Mouratoglou explained. “You feel that he doesn’t put too much extra pressure on himself, which is very difficult to do in that position.”
Sinner’s first challenge of handling expectation will come on Friday, where the Italian will clash with rival Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in the final at Roland-Garros.
