Mouratoglou sees Djokovic and Federer through the lens of football analogies

Famous tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has drawn parallels between Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic, former world number one Roger Federer and two footballing legends in Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both Djokovic and Federer are regarded as two of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category along with Spain’s Rafael Nadal.

Mouratoglou was recently quoted in a report, explaining that, in his opinion, Federer is more like former Barcelona striker Messi because of his pure talent, whereas Djokovic reminds him of former Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, who is famous for intensity and hard work.

“I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday, and we were saying that Federer is Messi, and Djokovic is Ronaldo," he said. “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.”

Djokovic is regarded as the most successful player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles. This year, the Belgrade-born star has managed to complete his trophy cabinet as he won the Olympic gold medal for the first time in his career. He ended up defeating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the singles category event in Paris in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6.

On the other hand, Federer retired from the sport in September 2022 after struggling with fitness concerns towards the later stages of his career. He was the first player ever in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era to win more than 15 Grand Slam titles. He also became the first player in men’s singles category to lift a major title 20 or more times in his illustrious career.