Patrick Mouratoglou has described Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon final win over Alexander Zverev as “very average”, but it was more than enough to win his fifth major.
The Italian was under intense pressure to retain his Wimbledon title after his shock early exit from the French Open when he was the overwhelming favourite to win in Paris.
After physical issues wrecked his Roland Garros hopes, much of the talk heading into the grass court major was whether or not the scorching heat would get to the 24-year-old again.
The world No 1 overcame an almighty scare in round one against Miomir Kecmanovic before he settled into the tournament. Sinner produced an almost flawless performance to dismiss Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the semi-finals, before downing Alexander Zverev in four sets in the final.
The five-time Grand Slam winner hit 58 winners and just 25 unforced errors but according to Serena Williams’ former coach, Mouratoglou, this was not a particularly impressive display.
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But, what is worrying for the rest of the ATP Tour, is that Mouratoglou believes that Sinner can get a lot better, which may scupper everyone else’s Grand Slam hopes.
The Frenchman captioned his Instagram video, “It wasn’t Jannik at his very best… yet he still had plenty in reserve. Here’s why!”
He went on to explain, “It was not a great Jannik Sinner and imagine he won a Grand Slam. This Sinner, if you compare his usual level in the last months to his level during Wimbledon, I would say he was at 65% to 70%.
“I felt that he was not very confident. Yes, he had a very big disappointment at Roland Garros, but it’s not that he didn’t play well. And before that, he won a number of matches without losing one. So, he should be super confident.
“In the final, he missed so many forehands and he was moving backwards, usually he always goes forward. On the returning side, he was not as good.
“Even though he was very average, I think it is going to be very useful for the future for him to know that he can win a Grand Slam being at 70% in terms of his quality of tennis.”
Mouratoglou has had a great deal of success as a coach. During his 10-year stint with Serena between 2012-22, the American won 10 majors and he has also coached Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Simona Halep, and more.
Ergo, when it comes to tennis, the 56-year-old knows what he is talking about. And it could be argued that Sinner did not hit the heights he achieved when the 6ft 3in player won all five Masters 1000 events earlier this year. However, in this instance, the outspoken Mouratoglou is likely to raise a few eyebrows with these comments.
Incidentally, with Carlos Alcaraz yet to come back from a wrist injury, Zverev still being unable to break a 10-match losing streak against Sinner, and Djokovic running out of energy in the business end of the majors, the Italian could be in for more success at the US Open.
Once again, the high temperatures may be his biggest enemy.
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