Novak Djokovic Is A Better Player Than Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal, Says Patrick Mouratoglou

Published 07/13/2019, 7:41 AM EDT

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World Number one, Novak Djokovic reaches the Grand Slam finals for the 25th time in his career after prevailing over Roberto Bautista-Agut in the semifinals of Wimbledon. Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou believes Djokovic it the real GOAT of tennis and he is above his rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

“I do believe that when the three of them are at the top of their game then Novak has an edge on them. He came after them when they were already dominating the game, he showed that he could beat both, become No.1, stayed No.1 and he did it several times,” Mouratoglou said

The advent of Novak Djokovic on the ATP Tour saw a new face in the men’s game, and it became taxing for Federer and Nadal to perpetuate their dominance on the men’s tour after the Serb showed up.

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via Getty

At present, Novak leads in the head to head tallies against Roger and Rafa. Also, he is the only tennis player defeat both Federer and Nadal on their own battlefield (Federer at Wimbledon and Nadal at French Open).

“He’s been dominating Rafa many times on clay, not always at Roland Garros that’s true but to beat Rafa at a big tournament final on clay not many guys can do that. He was also able to beat Roger many times and become No.1 while those two were at the top. He’s a bit better than the two others (Nadal and Federer) as difficult as it is to say. A lot of people are going to disagree with me but that’s my belief,” Mouratoglou continued.

He turned professional in 2003, and his major breakthrough came in the year 2008 when he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Australian Open finals. It was the first time in three years, that a Grand Slam title was not won by Federer or Nadal.

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At that time, the tennis world was pessimistic regarding Djokovic’s success further on the ATP Tour, the Serb was discouraged from joining the club of dominant tennis players and tennis world was skeptical about him being a GOAT.  

However, with the devotion towards his profession, Novak Djokovic proved the world wrong with his tennis racquet. And now, he has also surpassed the achievements of Federer and Nadal in the certain domains of the game. 

via Imago

“When Novak came to the game everyone was telling me it’s impossible to win against these two guys, they’re too good. But a young guy came and believed, Novak said: “I’m going to win”. Everyone said, “Who is this guy? How can you say that? How can you be disrespectful to the two greatest players of all time?” But he made it because he believed deeply. It’s down to his hunger and his belief,” Mouratoglou said.

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At Wimbledon Championships 2019, the ‘Big Three’ of tennis had set up the semifinal lineup for the first time at Wimbledon since 2007. Twelve years ago, Novak Djokovic was Slam-less and within the span of 11 years, the Serb gave himself the title of 15-time Grand Slam champion and he is aiming to add one more to his name as he takes on Federer in tomorrow’s Wimbledon final. 

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Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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