Leading tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has declared there is “no doubt” Roger Federer is unmatched when it comes to “elegance and inspired tennis.”
The Frenchman also asserted there is “no discussion about who is the GOAT” and claimed “sports achievements is the only metric” in the debate, having previously named Novak Djokovic as the best ever.
Rafael Nadal was recently asked which player he has enjoyed watching most during his career in a recent interview where he discussed his great rivals Federer and Djokovic.
“Since I have a memory of tennis, Federer is the player who has impressed me the most, the one who has entertained me the most, the one who has moved me the most,” the Spaniard told El Pais.
“Watching Federer play has moved me more than Djokovic, and in the end, tennis is about emotion; it’s the emotion that draws you to it.”
Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are regarded by many observers as the three greatest players in tennis history, having won 24, 22 and 20 Grand Slam titles respectively – making up the top three of the all time men’s major list.
In a post on X / Twitter, Mouratoglou did not directly reference Nadal’s comments, but weighed in on the discussion sparked by what the Mallorcan said.
“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,” wrote the 53-year-old.
Mouratoglou, who coaches at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France, has worked with several tennis stars, including Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Coco Gauff, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune.
Following Djokovic’s remarkable 2023 season, Mouratoglou lauded the Serbian’s longevity and argued he had sealed his status as the GOAT beyond all doubt.
“I’ve never seen in the history of tennis someone who is on top of their game at 36, as much as they were at 26, 28. It’s a whole career of being at the top,” the 53-year-old Frenchman assessed in an episode of his Eye of the Coach series for Tennis Majors.
“He had one or two difficult years, but most of his career he’s been at the top of his game, even though he played in the same era as Roger and Rafa, which says even more about how an incredible, dominant player he is.
“I think the famous debate about who is the GOAT, I guess, is completely dead now after this incredible year, three more Grand Slams, plus one final. He has the record almost everywhere of all – number of Masters 1000s, number of weeks No 1, number of Grand Slams – and he’s still playing, he’s still at the top.”
Djokovic broke or extended a number of major tennis records in a historic 2023 season during which he won seven titles and posted a 56-7 (88.9%) record.
The 36-year-old won three of the four Grand Slam titles in a year for the fourth time in his career – after 2011, 2015 and 2021 – a record in men’s tennis. He was also a runner-up at Wimbledon, making this the third season following 2015 and 2021 when he reached all four major finals and won three.
