The Coach Patrick Mouratoglou analyzed one of the most important shots for a tennis player: the forehand. In a video shared on Instagram, the French coach drew up a list of the players with the best serves ever, excluding ATP No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Mouratoglou chose Rafael Nadal as the best serve ever. The variety of solutions that the Spanish player has found with his forehand in his career made all the difference for Mouratoglou. The choice that Mouratoglou made for second place was decidedly more surprising. Here he put Fernando Gonzalez, capable of reaching the final at the 2007 Australian Open.
For Mouratoglou his forehand is the second best forehand in the history of tennis. In third place the Frenchman placed Roger Federer’s forehand. In fourth place, taking a small leap back in time, he included Pete Sampras in his list.
In the fifth and last place of the top 5 is Juan Martin Del Potro’s devastating forehand. In particular for this fifth case, Mouratoglou analyzed: “Juan Martin del Potro’s forehand was a question of timing and precision: one of the most efficient shots he has ever seen. His move was very personal but highly effective. For me it’s in my top five forehands in the history of tennis.”
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Mouratoglou’s always divisive words
At the beginning of 2024, Mouratoglou returned to talking about the GOAT issue. The French coach has already spoken about him several times, recognizing Novak Djokovic as the strongest tennis player of all time, obviously without belittling the other two champions, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.
Through a post shared on X, the former coach of Serena Williams and Simona Halep gave a new point of view to the discussion.
“There is no doubt that Roger’s elegance and inspired tennis are unparalleled, just as there is no debate as to who the GOAT is. In this case, sporting results are the only measure.”
Patrick Mouratoglou© Cameron Spencer / Staff Getty Images Sport
An opinion in this case not properly specified, but which is very clear to those who know his thoughts.
Previously, in the column The eye of the coach, Mouratoglou told: “I often hear that what Roger did between 2017 and 2019 is as good as what Novak is doing now and that Roger was a better player in 2017 and 2018 compared to previous years.
However, I believe there is a big difference. I think Federer has been a better tennis player since 2018, actually for one main reason: his backhand. He made an important decision and started catching the ball much earlier with his backhand and returning it flat instead of cut.
Roger couldn’t win three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, be consistent throughout the year and really be a step above all the players. This did not happen. Nole makes the difference: physically today he is as good as when he was 26.”
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