“Novak Djokovic dominates the world of tennis”: Patrick Mouratoglou
Patrick Mouratoglou and Novak Djokovic
The leading coach of the current generation, Patrick Mouratoglou has long been trying to settle the debate on who is the greatest of all time in tennis. While the world continues to be divided on the opinion to choose between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the debate seems to never get settled.
With the trio all on 20 Grand Slam titles each and leading the sport in numerous other records as well, tennis pundits, former players and followers of the sport are always drawing up comparisons between the three to prove their respective favourites case. Patrick recently tried to add another parameter that could help settle the discussion.
While Novak is often criticised for his animated reactions as compared to Federer’s gracefulness, nobody can deny the mental fortitude of the Serbian that has seen him win matches from near defeats on numerous occasions. Speaking on these lines, Patrick said, “Djokovic dominates the world of tennis when he is at his best. If Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time, then Novak is the strongest.”
Novak Djokovic had a 4-0 record in 5-setters this year
In what was a sensational season for the Serbian this year where he won 3 Grand Slam titles and finished runner-up at the 2021 US Open, Novak went into the 5th set only 4 times during his runs at the Grand Slams this year.
At the 2021 Australian Open where he was the 2-time defending champion, Novak was taken into the 5th set just once by Taylor Fritz. While Novak won the first two sets, the young American got the next two forcing a fifth which Novak won rather comfortably. He then dropped just 2 sets in the next 4 matches on his way to the title, his 9th in Melbourne and 18th overall major.
Playing at the 2021 French Open, Novak played two 5-setter matches and was 0-2 down going into the 3rd set on both occasions. In his 4th round clash against Lorenzo Musetti, the young Italian won the first two sets in the tiebreaker and Novak had to claw his way back into the match before Musetti retired in the 5th set due to an injury while Novak had gone 4-0 up.
In the finals as well, Stefanos Tsitsipas won the first two sets but Djokovic again showed his mental strength and despite jeers from the crowd directed towards the Serbian for having knocked out Nadal in the semi-finals earlier, Novak beat the Greek to win his 2nd French Open title and complete Career Grand Slam for the second time as he won his 19th Slam.
At the 2021 Wimbledon, Novak did not play a single 5-setter and dropped just 2 sets, winning his 1st round match in 4-sets and then again winning the finals in 4-sets picking his 20th major.
At the US Open, in the 7 matches he played, apart from the finals where he lost in straight-sets, he won just 1 match in straight-sets while winning the rest 4 matches in 4-sets while winning his semi-final clash with Alexander Zverev in a thrilling 5-setter again proving his mental strength yet again.
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