"Someone who stands by his beliefs, even though majority of people are against him, deserves total respect"- Patrick Mouratoglou on Novak Djokovic 

Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou feels Novak Djokovic deserves "total respect" for sticking to his beliefs on vaccination even though they could deny him the chance to become the greatest player of all time.

Djokovic said in an interview on Tuesday that he would be prepared to sacrifice Grand Slam trophies over his personal beliefs on vaccination, stating that the "principles of decision-making on his body" are more important to him than winning titles.

In a video on Instagram, Mouratoglou admitted he was surprised at the World No. 1's stance, given he is competing against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to become the GOAT. The Frenchman, however, stressed that it is "extremely powerful" on Djokovic's part to prioritize his "belief" over the "race" to make history.

"I am extremely surprised with Novak's statements. I would never ever think that would be his choice. We all know that he is competing to become the greatest of all time," Mouratoglou said. "He is competing with Rafa and Roger, he is in the best possible situation, he's the youngest of the three, winning more Grand Slams every year average, and he puts his belief in not getting vaccinated above this race to become the greatest. So, that’s extremely powerful."

Mouratoglou, who coaches Serena Williams and Stefanos Tsitsipas, said the logical choice for Djokovic would have been to get vaccinated after his Australian visa saga.

"So, I think after what happened in Australia, he [Djokovic] would have said okay, so you know, I can become the greatest of all time. I really have a big shot for that. I accept to be vaccinated plus if I do so people will stop being against me. But, he took the opposite way," said Mouratoglou.

“I think that someone who stands by his beliefs, even though the immense majority of the people are going against him, deserves total respect," concluded the 51-year-old.

Novak Djokovic to begin 2022 season in Dubai

Novak Djokovic at the Davis Cup Finals 2021

Djokovic will kick off his 2022 season at the Dubai Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 tournament that begins next week. The Serb has not played since the Davis Cup in December.

Apart from Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, and Denis Shapovalov are the other top players set to participate in Dubai.

Djokovic is a five-time champion in Dubai and last won the title in 2020.