Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, has made a huge claim about World No. 1 Roger Federer and 10-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal.
According to Mouratoglou, Spanish superstar Nadal will never surpass Federer because the Swiss legend’s game is extremely pleasing to the eye, and the way he glides on the court is what makes him a better player than the Majorcan.
Federer has made a remarkable start to 2018, extending his winning streak to 16 matches on Thursday after reaching the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters.
The 36-year-old Basel native began the year by defending his Australian Open crown as he defeated Marin Cilic of Croatia in a five-set thriller in January before overtaking Nadal as the top ranked player in the world by claiming his 97th career title in Rotterdam.
While Federer has 20 Grand Slam titles to his name, Nadal has 16 after he won a record 10th French Open and his third US Open trophy in 2017.
However, Nadal is five years younger than Federer and can expect to eclipse Federer’s Grand Slam tally in the future.
But even if the southpaw is able to break Federer’s record, it will not take him ahead of Federer as far as the debate about the greatest player of all time is concerned.
“No one played tennis like this,” Mouratoglou told Swiss media outlet Le Matin.
“And no one will play so well.
“His easiness, naturalness that raises from any of his movement, we never saw it.
“And I am sure we won’t see it anymore. There will be other great champions.
“But even if Rafa (Nadal) beats his record one day, no one will have played better.”
“Part of the explanation is physical,” he added.
“Roger managed to save energy thanks to an extremely light schedule that, I am convinced, will be soon copied.
“Then there is technique and tactics since he was smart enough to change his game to earn effectiveness and save energy.”
