Patrick Mouratoglou has compared tennis GOATs Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to tennis icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi respectively.
The Frenchman believes Federer is similar to Messi because of the innate talent and skill while Djokovic could be called tennis world’s Ronald because of his work ethic and attention to detail. Over a period of 14 years, Federer and Djokovic have shared court for a fairly long period to create one of tennis’ best rivalries with a latter holding a 27-23 record against the former in 50 matches played between 2006 and 2020.
The legendary Serbian has clinched men’s record 24 Major titles, while the Swiss maestro who called time on his illustrious career in 2022 has racked up 20. The tennis fans have stopped themselves from indulging in a never-ending GOAT debate that includes tennis’ Big Three i.e., Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, a similar argument has kept the football fans fighting for a long time.
Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as two of the greatest footballers in the history of football and have their own armies of divided fans for the last 15 years. In a video published on his Instagram account, Mouratoglou said: “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.”
After Djokovic’s near-perfect 2023 season, Mouratoglou praised the longevity of the World No. 1 and argued that the Serbian his cemented his status as the GOAT in tennis.
“I’ve never seen in the history of tennis someone who is on top of their game at 36, as much as they were at 26, 28. It’s a whole career of being at the top,” the 53-year-old renowned coach said while talking to Tennis Majors.
“He had one or two difficult years, but most of his career he’s been at the top of his game, even though he played in the same era as Roger and Rafa, which says even more about how an incredible, dominant player he is.
“I think the famous debate about who is the GOAT, I guess, is completely dead now after this incredible year, three more Grand Slams, plus one final. He has the record almost everywhere of all – number of Masters 1000s, number of weeks No 1, number of Grand Slams – and he’s still playing, he’s still at the top.”
The 10-time Champion at Melbourne Park is in action at the 2024 Australian Open. A couple of matches away from a record-extending 11th title in Melbourne, he is set to face world No 4 Jannik Sinner in the semis on Rod Laver Arena on Friday.