Time off has whetted Serena's appetite: Coach

LOS ANGELES • Serena Williams is as motivated as ever to add to her 23 Grand Slam singles titles and the coronavirus shutdown could end up helping the tennis great in that quest, her long-time coach Patrick Mouratoglou told Reuters.

The American, who turns 39 in September, has reached four Grand Slam finals since giving birth to daughter Olympia in 2017, but failed to win any of them and remains one Major title short of Margaret Court's record of 24.

The season's hiatus since March will continue at least until August, with the ATP and WTA Tours not set to recommence before then.

But Mouratoglou feels Williams has been able to recharge during the break and that her appetite for titles has not waned.

"First of all, it was good for Serena because she had time to rest and her body needed rest," the Frenchman said. "Second, her motivation hasn't changed. She's still as motivated as before to win more Grand Slams."

Mouratoglou, who has been working with the veteran since 2012, believes that experienced pros like Williams, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic remain best equipped to hit the ground running when tennis restarts.

"They have so much experience that being out of competition for a few months doesn't affect their game so much," he said.

"And we've seen the best, someone like Roger for example, coming back from six months' injury and winning a Grand Slam straightaway (in 2017). So, only those guys can do that. So for Serena, it'll be fine."

Mouratoglou was less sure about how well other players would cope given the lack of clarity over the sport's return.

There are concerns that professional tennis may not be able to return at all this year given the international travel restrictions.

"I think that for all the players, it's extremely challenging because it's a situation that is completely new," said Mouratoglou, whose Ultimate Tennis Showdown league kicks off at his academy in Nice, France, from tomorrow.

"A tennis player always has a short-term goal with the next tournament coming up. And this is their motivation. This didn't happen during this period and they don't even know when the next tournament is.

"So they have to find other ways to feed their motivation, which is a bit challenging."

Given the dearth of tennis, Mouratoglou has taken it upon himself, launching an closed-door exhibition event that will feature three top-10 men's players - ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and David Goffin - among others.

The 10 players will compete in a round-robin format over five weeks and he hopes that the changes, such as allowing fans to question the players during changeovers, will make the sport more attractive and engaging for a younger generation.

REUTERS