{"id":1792779,"date":"2026-02-25T19:17:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792779"},"modified":"2026-02-25T19:17:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:17:55","slug":"novak-djokovic-used-being-hurt-deeply-to-fuel-jannik-sinner-win-patrick-mouratoglou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792779","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic used being &#8216;hurt deeply&#8217; to fuel Jannik Sinner win &#8211; Patrick Mouratoglou"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Novak Djokovic used being \u2018hurt deeply\u2019 to fuel Jannik Sinner win \u2013 Patrick Mouratoglou<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"25 Feb 2026 7:17 PM\" data-ps-date=\"25 Feb 2026 7:17 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1772047075\"><br \/>\n                            25 Feb 2026 7:17 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-ego-touched-hurt-jannik-sinner-win-patrick-mouratoglou\" class=\"!text-info hover:!text-brand\" aria-label=\"Share to facebook\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <a 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target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.flipboard.com\/bookmarklet\/popout?v=2&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennis365.com%2Ftennis-news%2Fnovak-djokovic-ego-touched-hurt-jannik-sinner-win-patrick-mouratoglou\" aria-label=\"Share to flipboard\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a class=\"!text-share-icon hover:!text-share-icon-active flex items-center justify-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" aria-label=\"Follow Tennis365 on Google Search\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Novak Djokovic used being \u2018hurt deeply\u2019 to fuel Jannik Sinner win \u2013 Patrick Mouratoglou\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Novak-Djokovic-hushes-the-crowd-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Novak Djokovic during a match\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Novak Djokovic hushes the crowd                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Leading coach Patrick Mouratoglou has claimed that Novak Djokovic was \u201cdeeply hurt\u201d and motivated by a question he was asked during the 2026 Australian Open.<\/p>\n<p>In his press conference after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals last month, Djokovic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-calls-out-disrespectful-question-alcaraz-sinner-federer-nadal\">interrupted a journalist\u2019s question and branded it \u201cdisrespectful.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The reporter suggested the 38-year-old legend was now \u201cchasing\u201d Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the same way he did with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the start of his career.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\">Djokovic<\/a> then earned an outstanding five-set victory against Sinner in the semi-finals in Melbourne before falling to Alcaraz in a four-set final.<\/p>\n<p>In a LinkedIn post, Mouratoglou argued the 24-time Grand Slam champion\u2019s win against Sinner was a \u201cresponse\u201d to his ego being \u201ctouched.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hear a lot of people saying that if Novak Djokovic wins a 25th Grand Slam, he should stop,\u201d wrote the Frenchman. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that for one second.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring this Australian Open, a journalist asked Novak whether he was now chasing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, after having chased Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Novak answered calmly: \u2018I\u2019m not chasing. I\u2019m creating my own history.\u2019 But that question hurt him. Deeply.<\/p>\n<h2>ATP Tour News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-rafael-nadal-roger-federer-most-difficult-opponent-goat-ivan-ljubicic\"><strong>Federer, Nadal, Djokovic? Former world No 3 names toughest opponent and gives GOAT verdict<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/stefanos-tsitsipas-appears-criticise-former-coach-goran-ivanisevic\"><strong>Stefanos Tsitsipas appears to criticise Goran Ivanisevic as he makes \u2018anxiety\u2019 comment<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause seeing Novak Djokovic as someone who is chasing others, instead of being the one everyone is chasing, touches his ego. And when you touch Novak\u2019s ego, something wakes up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou could see it in the semi-final against Jannik Sinner. Novak found a way. Not because he was superior tennis-wise, but because on the big points, he became Novak Djokovic again. That match was a response.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen came the final against Carlos Alcaraz. Novak lost. And no, it wasn\u2019t because his tennis level is gone. The only real obstacle between Novak Djokovic and Grand Slam titles today is motivation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe achieved the goal of his life: becoming the greatest of all time. Once that mountain was climbed, the drive naturally dropped. If the motivation comes back tomorrow, he can still match anyone, every single time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPhysically, of course, things are different. He doesn\u2019t recover like he used to. But he\u2019s fit. He can prepare. He can manage matches. He can still reach the last rounds of Grand Slams and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/atp-indian-wells-entry-list-ranking-points-prize-money-key-dates-2026\">ATP Indian Wells entry list, ranking points, prize money, key dates: Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic star<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Novak Djokovic used being \u2018hurt deeply\u2019 to fuel Jannik Sinner win \u2013 Patrick Mouratoglou Ewan West 25 Feb 2026 7:17 PM Novak Djokovic hushes the crowd Leading coach Patrick Mouratoglou has claimed that Novak Djokovic was \u201cdeeply hurt\u201d and motivated by a question he was asked during the 2026 Australian Open. In his press conference [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1792779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1792779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1792779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1792779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1792779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}