Google News Mouratoglou's last comparison on Djokovic / Federer: "They're like Ronaldo and Messi"
by LORENZO CIOTTI
The comparisons never end when it comes to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. It happens to the Big 3 all the time. This is Picasso, the other is Michelangelo. One is geometry, the other fantasy, and so on. We all do it, we (the media) - a gang of tennis-sick psychopaths - including, the fans do it, the tennis players themselves do it. All enthusiasts do it.
Serena Williams' former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, also did it, comparing Novak Djokovic to Cristiano Ronaldo and Roger Federer to Lionel Messi. The two soccer players who have dominated (almost) unchallenged over the last 15 years, monopolizing soccer. Does it remind you of anything? The difference is that our monsters were three, considering Nole, Roger and Rafa Nadal.
Through an Instagram post, Mouratoglou analyzed his concept, explaining how Messi's soccer has similarities with Roger Federer's tennis. At the same time, Serena and Simona Halep's former coach highlighted how Ronaldo's desire to always remain at the top is equivalent to that of Djokovic.
"I was talking to a friend of mine and we were saying that Federer is Messi and Djokovic is Ronaldo. Why? Because Federer is a crazy talent and he just needs to feel what he is doing. While Djokovic is a hard worker who pays attention to every single detail," said Mouratoglou.
Nick Kyrgios also expressed his opinion on the same game a few days ago. The Australian, finalist of the 2022 edition of Wimbledon, spoke about the GOAT issue, making a mythological comparison to Federer.
"Novak is definitely the best of all time. Roger Federer is the most beautiful thing to watch, he is the most talented, he makes the game look easy, he is like the Michael Jordan of tennis. Without Roger there would never have been a Novak or a Nadal, someone to try to capture in the statistics.
He is the most complete player, even on all surfaces, because Nadal is dominant on one surface, while Novak is dominant and has been dominant on all. I think the simple ability to put the ball where you want it is very underrated. That's something I felt playing with him, because he could change direction with every shot he hit," said Kyrgios.
The Australian highlighted Nole's desire to break all records.
"I think he wins at least three or four more Grand Slam tournaments. I suppose there will also be a couple more ATP 500s and Masters 1000s. Sinner beat him a couple of times in the Davis Cup and then in the ATP Finals, but until he starts to lose consecutive Slams with a couple of bad defeats for me he always comes into tournaments as the favorite. I think Margaret Court's record is in the back of his mind. You want to be the most awarded of all time, in fact for him the gold medal is also important," he said.
Mouratoglou explains the difference between Djokovic and Federer
A few weeks ago - while talking about Federer, Djokovic and Nadal - 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 Rafael Nadal.
And speaking of comparisons, through a post, the former coach of the Williams sisters 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 It's a discussion about who the GOAT is. In this case, sporting results are the only measure."
No doubt that Roger’s elegance and inspired tennis is unmatched as much as there is no discussion about who is the Goat. In that matter, sports achievements is the only metric.
— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) January 4, 2024
Going even further back (just a couple of months ago), in the Tennis Majors column The eye of the coach, Mouratoglou wanted to compare the milestones achieved by Djokovic with those of Federer.
"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 than in the years before.
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. The difference is made by Nole: physically today he is as good as when he was 26 years old," explained the Frenchman.