Patrick Mouratoglou’s insight into the GOAT debate

In his column “The Eye of the Coach” for Tennis Majors, Patrick Mouratoglou returnsone of the most renowned tennis coaches, returns to the perennial and heated topic of the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate.

He compares Novak Djokovic, who enjoyed another incredible season with three Grand Slam titles and the ATP Finals victory in Turin, to the Swiss Roger Federer. Mouratoglou highlights that Federer has improved as a tennis player since 2018, particularly due to a crucial change in his backhand game.

“He made an important decision and started taking the ball much earlier on his backhand and returning it flat instead of cutting. “That made a big difference,” analyzes the 53-year-old French coach.

Djokovic’s physical superiority and longevity

The statistics speak for the Serbian champion. Mouratoglou emphasizes that Djokovic is physically as good today as he was when he was 26, which makes a significant difference.

“At 36 and 37, Roger couldn’t win three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, be consistent throughout the year and really be a step above all the other players. That didn’t happen. Nole makes the difference: physically he is as good today as he was when he was 26.

That’s a big difference. When you are at that physical level you can be consistent all year round and consistently beat the best players in the world,” Mouratoglou added to reinforce his point.

Djokovic and the secret of his longevity

Mouratoglou’s analysis is accurate, but it should be highlighted that once they reached the age of 32-33, all of the Big 3 won titles and dominated their young opponents.

Comparisons with the past are impossible; The only possible comparison is precisely that between Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, the most successful players beyond this age limit. Taking these exceptional performances into account, it is evident that Djokovic is proving to be perhaps more superior compared to his two rivals, especially given the age at which he plays.

At 36, Nole is as strong as he was at 26: he is the ageless man of tennis, and the idea that he could win by 40 is not just a utopia.