Djokovic’s Confidence Made Him GOAT Over Nadal and Federer Says Mouratoglou

Tuesday, 01 April 2025 at 09:02

byErik Virostko

Novak Djokovic might have a great forehand and a great backhand, but according to Patrick Mouratoglou, his confidence and mentality make all the difference.

Djokovic arrived at the scene as the last of the Big Three. Roger Federer had 16 Grand Slams and Rafael Nadal had 9 before the Serbian player even managed to win his second. But despite the dominance of these two players, Djokovic was confident in his abilities.

He always believed that he could challenge Federer and Nadal, and he ended up doing just that. The Serbian player ended with a better H2H score in both rivalries, and, of course, he also ended up with the most Grand Slam titles.

But was it all because of his superior game, which might not look so superior at first glance? According to an experienced coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, it had more to do with Djokovic's incredible self-belief.

Mouratoglou recently spoke to Tennis365, remembering a story about Djokovic's first meeting with Federer, and how he surprised the world with his confident approach.

"I remember the first time when Novak came onto the tour and Rafa and Roger were winning everything. All the other guys were thinking these two are unbeatable and then this young guy from Serbia comes onto the screen and he is about to play Roger in one of the first rounds of the Grand Slam."

"He was getting interviewed before the match and Novak said 'I’m going to beat him.' Straight away the reaction to these comments was really negative and people were asking who was this guy who thinks he can beat the great Federer."

"Then another journalist said to Djokovic that he sounded a bit cocky and I remember his response. He was polite and said: 'I’m not cocky, I’m just confident in my abilities.' Well, he went on to prove it. Time and again. He became world No 1, he beat both Roger and Rafa time and again and ended up with the best record of the three."

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Mouratoglou also explained why many don't want to admit that Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time. For many, Nadal and Federer are more liked, which is why some fail to recognize the Serbian's achievements, but that's not the case for the French coach.

"Mentally Novak is the strongest of the three. He has won the most Grand Slams and has achieved the most of the three, by far by the way. It doesn’t please people when you say he is the best because the other two are more liked than Novak, but this is undeniable now. He is the greatest of all time."

At the end of the day, what Mouratoglou thinks helped Djokovic to become the best is his confidence and mentality. The French coach thinks the Serbian was the best of all time mentally, which made him the best of all time as a tennis player.

"When you look at Novak’s game and compare it to Roger and Rafa, you say how can this guy with this game have a better record than the other two, but it is because he is the best of all time mentally."

"You can’t teach confidence like he had. You just have it and this is a big topic in my book. It is not a question of teaching confidence, but you can do things to build it in a person."