Serena Williams' ex-coach defends Novak Djokovic taking early toilet break without umpire's permission at Australian Open 2023 

Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou has commented on Novak Djokovic taking an early toilet break without the umpire's permission during his first-round match.

Djokovic stormed through Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena to begin his pursuit of a tenth Australian Open title on Tuesday, with the Serb getting a warm reception following his deportation a year ago.

The 35-year-old, who was banned from competing in last year's tournament, showed no trace of the hamstring strain he suffered in Adelaide earlier this month as he won 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 at Rod Laver Arena.

Five games into the match, the 21-time Grand Slam champion informed the umpire that he needed to use the washroom, forcing him to leave the court quickly. The fourth seed was seen asking the official, but rushed off the court and passed security before receiving a response as commentators believed he departed without permission.

In light of this, Patrick Mouratoglou took to social media to defend the Serbs' actions, writing that making such a big deal about toilet breaks demonstrates how tennis lacks "real stories."

"To make such a big stories about those toilet breaks says a lot about how much we lack real stories in our sport," Mouratoglou wrote.

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"Let's see how far I can go" - Novak Djokovic on chasing historic records at the Australian Open 2023

Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2023 Australian Open - Day 2.

When asked how he feels about chasing a record tenth Australian Open title, 22nd Major, and World No. 1 ranking, Novak Djokovic responded that pursuing these things provides him with a "goal-setting" sort of motivation that will push him as a "guiding star" in a way.

"They're just numbers in the end of the day. I think it's important to I feel like try to get as close as possible to the balance between using the possibilities and achievements that are out there as a motivational factor, as a goal-setting type of motivation, that will drive you as a guiding star in a way," he said.

"But at the same time balance it with an everyday task so that you have to accomplish in a proper way in order to stay in the present moment, which is when you are able to perform your best - at least in my case," he added.

The Serb went on to say that he has been in similar circumstances before, where he has played to achieve 'historic' things and been successful, so he knows how to handle the pressure.

"So, yeah, I mean, I've been in the situations before where I've played for some really big historic things, and I've been blessed to have I would say more success than failures in those particular situations. I know how to behave, I know how to handle it. Let's see how far I can go," Djokovic said.