Eye of the Coach #82: “Roger loved to play and win; Rafa loves to fight; Novak wants to dominate, he wants it more”
In the latest episode, coach Patrick Mouratoglou outlines the reasons why Djokovic made himself the undisputed leader in the GOAT race
Novak Djokovic equalled the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles when he won the US Open earlier this month. At the age of 36, he now owns most records in the men’s game but he shows no sign of wanting to slow down just yet.
In the latest episode of Eye of the Coach, Patrick Mouratoglou explains why he thinks Djokovic has made it to the very top, putting himself above Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the conversation to be called the greatest player of all time.
“I think I said when he was on 12 or 13 Grand Slams that Novak would win the most of all,” Mouratoglou says. “He was dominant already. I thought at that time, he was superior. I knew that his body was in perfect shape. Novak’s game is not painful for the body. Novak is for me the perfect athlete for tennis. He’s a conqueror and a dominator, and he loves to prove people wrong.”
“All three have the main qualities. Roger probably loves tennis the most. He’s a player, he loves tennis, he’s breathing tennis, living tennis and that’s why he was playing that type of tennis. Rafa loves to fight, to suffer, tofight from the first point to the last. Nvak wants to doinate, he wants to be better, he has the willingness to be better than anyone. I think he’s superior to the others in that area. He wants it more, he’s prepared to do more. He wants to be on top of the world.
Mouraroglou says he does not think anything will change in Djokovic’s mentality even though he has won his 24th slam.
“He has competitors, Carlos (Alcaraz), Daniil (Medvedev) are pushing him and maybe tomorrow others will push him a lot. He still wants to be on top of the world and he wants to make history and be the best undoubtedly for all time. If he can make a record that will never ever be broken, that’s enough to give him the motivation.”
KEY MOMENTS FROM EYE OF THE COACH #82
0.15: Why Mouratoglou thought Djokovic would eventually win the most slams when he’d won 12 or 13
1.00: “Novak is the perfect athlete for tennis”
1.40: Roger loved tennis the most, Rafa likes to fight, Novak wants to be the best
2.15: Novak simply wants to dominate, to be better than anyone else, to prove people wrong
3.10: Winning his 24th slam won’t dent his motivation to win even more
