One of the most influential coaches in tennis history has nailed his colours to the mast in the never-ending debate about the greatest of all time. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominated men’s tennis for 15 years, winning an incredible 66 Grand Slam titles between them.
Federer and Nadal retired in 2022 and 2024, respectively, while Djokovic, still going strong at 38, faces Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Friday. All three would have cases to be named the greatest, but one respected figure has explained why Djokovic deserves to be regarded as the best. Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams to three of her Wimbledon titles and Olympic gold during their decade-long partnership, admits the Serb fell behind Federer and Nadal in certain facets of the game.
However, his mentality and eye for detail set him apart from his peers. Mouratoglou told the High Performance podcast: « People make the mistake. They think it’s about talent, weapons. It’s nothing to do with that, it’s only the mindset.
« Novak Djokovic is the greatest of all time. The discussion is because people are fans of other guys. But he is. In terms of achievements, he did more than any player in history on every level.
« If you look at his game, Roger Federer’s game, Rafa Nadal’s game, he’s doesn’t have half of what they have. Roger is a genius; he has so many things.
« Rafa is a physical monster. If you think of Novak, he does everything well but he doesn’t have anything outstanding. And he’s the greatest of all time because he’s the most professional by far. His attention to detail is unbelievable. He wants to dominate, he wants to be the best. »
Federer and Nadal were already winning machines by the time Djokovic began making his mark. When he won his first Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open, it was the first major in three years not won by either Federer or Nadal.
On Djokovic’s supreme belief in his ability, Mouratoglou recalled: « He came into tennis at a time when Roger and Rafa were winning everything. All the other players were thinking it’s impossible to win a Grand Slam.
« He came in and said, ‘I’m going to beat those guys.’ He had bad press at the start because everyone said, ‘Who’s this guy, who does he think he is? He’s cocky.’
« He answered that later and said, ‘I’m not cocky, I just have incredible confidence in myself.' »
Source link
