“Massive Rafael Nadal Complex Due to Academy”: Novak Djokovic and Wimbledon Comment by Serena Williams’ Former Coach Patrick Mouratoglou Leaves Fans Livid

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have pushed the envelope and compelled everyone to reassess what greatness means in tennis. And the GOAT debate surrounding the three will continue for decades to come. But secondary debates regarding certain aspects have also started cropping up and they are probably much more intriguing. For instance, what is the biggest challenge in men’s tennis?

Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach to the great Serena Williams, has sparked a tirade of anger against himself for comments made on this particular question. His opinion on the ‘biggest mountain to climb in tennis’ had fans scratching their heads and wondering if it had anything to do with the Rafa Nadal Academy.

 Novak Djokovic and Wimbledon

The first season of Netflix’s Break Point covers the 2022 tennis season. Naturally, the four Grand Slams are a big part of the show and episode 7 dives into the Wimbledon Championship. It’s in this particular episode that Patrick Mouratoglou opines that beating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon is the biggest challenge in the sport of tennis.

“Beating Novak at Wimbledon, probably the highest mountain to climb for any tennis player.”

In 2022, Djokovic stepped on to the grass courts of Wimbledon having won the last three editions of the Grand Slam. He eventually went on to win his fourth straight edition by beating Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6, making it a total of 7 Wimbledon titles in his career.

Taking all this into consideration, it is not a stretch by any means to say beating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon is one of the toughest challenges in tennis. However, it might be a stretch to say it is the toughest challenge in tennis, period. A certain Roger Federer might beg to differ as well given his 8 titles on the grass Major.

But an even bigger challenge in tennis has to be beating Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. Over the course of his career, the Spaniard has done the unthinkable on the clay courts of Paris. He has won a mind boggling 14 titles at the French Open. To put that into context, Pete Sampras, the man with most Grand Slam titles after the Big Three, has 14 Grand Slams put together!

Nadal has played a total of 112 matches at Roland Garros, losing only three of them; two of them to Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021. And the Serbian certainly deserves the highest of commendations for doing the near impossible twice.

Fans attack Patrick Mouratoglou

Patrick Mouratoglou runs a tennis academy in France which boasts of some of the biggest names in tennis, especially young and rising stars. Rafael Nadal too started his own tennis academy in Spain recently to great success. The likes of Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud are members of the academy. Many believe Patrick to be downplaying Nadal and his achievements due to the natural rivalry between the two tennis academies.

Taken at face value Mouratoglou’s comment certainly seems a bit absurd, especially taking into account how Novak Djokovic fared at the All England Club earlier in his career while Rafael Nadal has always dominated Roland Garros.

Context, however, is everything. If you consider the current situation, one could argue that beating Djokovic at Wimbledon is the biggest challenge in tennis. On a 28-match winning streak at Wimbledon at the moment, it is looking increasingly likely that the Serbian will win his next 7 matches there too to lift his fifth straight title on the grass Major.