Serena Williams' former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, took to social media to compare Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to football legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively.
Federer and Djokovic are considered among the greatest tennis players in history, winning a combined 44 Grand Slams between them. Additionally, they have faced each other 50 times in one of the most prolific rivalries in the sport.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head 27-23, beating Federer at all four Grand Slams, and that is also the case with the Swiss, who has upstaged his Serbian rival on all the majors. With Federer now retired from professional tennis, Djokovic has continued playing and could break Federer's record of being the oldest ATP No. 1.
In fact, Mouratoglou tipped him to play into his 40s. While both have been dominant during their prime years, they differ in playing styles, and both have distinct personalities, which have always added to the intrigue when they play each other.
Federer's style tends to marry flair and finesse, and he has always been considered an elegant player when he stepped onto the court just because of the manner in which he carried himself to play the sport. Djokovic, meanwhile, has been likened to a machine with total dedication to the cause.
Mouratoglou portrayed these contrasting styles and compared them to football players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively.
In an Instagram highlight reel, the French coach compared Federer to Argentina's World Cup winner, Messi, simply because of his innate ability to play without exerting a lot of force.
Mouratgolou then likened Djokovic to Portuguese star Cristino Ronaldo because of his focus on even the most minute details so that he could get better at his craft.
"I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday, and we were saying that Federer is Messi, and Djokovic is Ronaldo. Why? Because Federer is pure crazy talent and he just needs to feel what he's doing. While Djokovic is the super hard worker that pays attention to every single detail."
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