Serena Williams’ long-time coach says it is clear who the best tennis player of all time is, as Novak Djokovic goes for Grand Slam title number 25
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominated men’s tennis(Image: Julian Finney, Getty Images for Laver Cup)
One of tennis’s most influential coaches has declared his position in the endless debate surrounding the sport’s greatest of all time. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic ruled men’s tennis for 15 years.
Between them they amassed an astonishing 66 Grand Slam titles. Federer and Nadal hung up their rackets in 2022 and 2024 respectively, while Djokovic, still competing at 38, takes on Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday.
Each of the trio could stake a claim to being the greatest, but one highly regarded figure has outlined why Djokovic merits recognition as the best. Patrick Mouratoglou guided Serena Williams to 10 major titles, including three Wimbledon crowns as well as Olympic gold during their decade-long collaboration.
He acknowledges that the Serbian trailed Federer and Nadal in certain aspects of the game. However, he believes Djokovic’s mental strength and attention to detail clearly distinguished him from his rivals.
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Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Mouratoglou said: “People make the mistake. They think it’s about talent, weapons. It’s nothing to do with that, it’s only the mindset.
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“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.”
Mouratoglou added: “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.
Patrick Mouratoglou guided Serena Williams to 10 of her 23 Grand Slam titles(Image: Getty)
“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 dominant forces by the time Djokovic started establishing himself. When he claimed his maiden Grand Slam crown at the 2008 Australian Open, it was the first Slam in three years not won by either Federer or Nadal.
Regarding Djokovic’s unwavering self-belief, 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.'”
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