The Paris Olympics opening ceremony gave a proud moment to all tennis fans as the Olympic torch was handed over to Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams during the ending phase of the torch rally, something usually reserved for the star players of the host team.
This happened when the French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane was holding the torch and decided to hand it over to the 14-time Roland Garros winner. Zidane made this move to offer his respect to the tennis legend, who has won on their home soil for a record 14 times, being the only player ever to have done that.
The Spanish legend then went to the boat along the Seine and passed the torch to Serena Williams. This was indeed an extremely special moment for all tennis fans as they saw two of the biggest legends getting the highest honor at the opening ceremony of the most prestigious sporting tournament.
American coach Patrick Mouratoglou was not immune to this fantastic yet emotional moment. Taking to his Instagram, Mouratoglou expressed his emotions when he saw two of the greatest Open Era tennis players holding the distinguished Olympic torch.
Patrick shared an image of Rafa and Serena holding the torch while being on the boat and wrote, “They needed 4 legends, they chose 2 tennis players!”
Patrick Mouratoglou is so proud! pic.twitter.com/7lmwbe0wat
— TennisWorld (@TennisWorl65157) July 29, 2024
It’s no secret that Patrick has been an enormous force behind Serena’s illustrious career and has helped her reach the pinnacle of success.
Patrick’s influence on Serena’s career
The French Tennis court trained the American tennis star for around 10 years, which was the peak moment of his coaching career. He started as a normal coach but his association with Serena bore fruits, resulting in both of them gaining immense success in their respective careers.
Serena joined him after incurring her first-ever defeat in the opening round of the main draw of a Grand Slam event at the 2012 French Open. During his time with the 23-time Grand Slam winner, she won her fifth, sixth, and seventh Wimbledon titles, the Olympic gold medal, her fourth, fifth, and sixth US Open titles, her second and third French Open titles, and her sixth and seventh Australian Open titles. It was Patrick who lifted her to the world ranking of number 1 again.
At the same time, it’s not the first time that the tennis coach decided to appreciate the 14-time French Open champion openly. As Rafa is heading towards the last phase of his career, Patrick is seen applauding him more and more, even though the latter’s academy is a direct competition to his academy.
