Mark Nixon · @markalannixon
4th Oct 2015 from TwitLonger
"The best remedy is total rest." Patrick Mouratoglou on Serena Williams many injuries in today's l'Équipe, interviewed by Vincent Cognet.
Serena definitively ended her season by withdrawing from Beijing and the Tour Finals in Singapore. Is she injured or unmotivated?
"The moment needed to be found to take care of her recurring physical problems, namely her knees and her elbow, problems which only can be solved by rest And because there was no major challenge, and her number one ranking wasn't in danger, we opted for this solution. If she'd played the WTF, she'd only have had 15 days off. Insufficient. Now she'll have almost two months to heal."
Is there an operation in sight?
"No. She suffers from bone edema in her knees. The best cure is total rest. We won't start up working again until the middle of November. That should allow her to do real work up to the Australian Open."
Have you considered a lighter workload in 2016?
"Yes. Next year, with the Games (Rio August 6-14) there won't be four but five majors. We haven't settled on a specific number, but a total of 15 tournaments would be ideal. Actually, Serena has been suffering from injuries all year which often have hindered her performing 100%. She's even had to withdraw from tournaments. That's really tough for her. She lost in Madrid in May against Kvitová because her knees were on fire. The idea is to avoid that recurring. "
Did she lose motivation after the loss at the US Open?
"No. There was a reaction, obviously. But Serena isn't unmotivated at all. Now she's looking forward once and for all to taking care of the problems that have hindered her all year. It seems very coherent to me."
Is there a risk of her not being ready for the beginning of next season?
"I'm not worried. If she rests, the suffering will disappear. She's still looking forward to playing the Hopman Cup and then doing Melbourn (18-31 January 2016)"
Has she digested her US Open loss?
"The disappointment has lessened but it's still there."
In hindsight, how do you analyze what happened in New York?
"She was under enormous pressure. I thought she did pretty well until the semi. She brought her best game against Venus. The morning of the semi against Vinci, I saw that it wasn't going to happen. Serena told me right away her knees were really hurting. She moved really badly on the court that day..."
Not to speak of the pressure ...
"But she's always under pressure. As soon as she loses a match, we ask what happened! It's monumental pressure. Obviously, it's increased a notch in the US. Because of her knee, she got a bit bogged down. And when it started to go pear shaped, she lost clarity."
How do you evaluate the 2015 season?
"It would have been an exceptional year had she won all four Slams. There's still a bad taste .. Ending it on that note, it's difficult being 100% positive about the season. Serena told me she had the feeling of having had a rotten season. I'm not far from thinking the same thing ..."
What?
"Yes, it's the feeling of a champion! That's why Serena is so strong. In the end, it's still a loss. One can't be satisfied with something unachieved."
What's the goal for 2016?
"First of all, beating Graf's twenty-two Slam titles. Then winning all four Slams. Given her standards of the last three years, we can't aim for anything less. We didn't succeed in 2015. So, we start again ..."