As Rafael Nadal prepares to end his career, the tennis world has been reflecting on the Big Three rivalry.
The Spaniard will join Roger Federer in retirement next month, leaving Novak Djokovic as the last man standing.
Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou has become the latest figure to weigh in on the rivalry between the three tennis icons and he named the man he would have wanted to coach.
Mouratoglou is busy with a new job after joining Naomi Osaka’s team. But the former world No. 1 picked up a back injury during their first tournament together – the China Open – and has now ended her season.
As the duo prepare for the Australian summer in 2025, Mouratoglou has taken time to analyse the Big Three and reveal which member he would like to have worked with.
“I think they are all, the three are so unique. Any of the three I would have liked for sure. If I had to pick one I would I pick Novak,” the Frenchman said.
“I said this several years ago, ‘I think he’s gonna become the greatest’, when he had only 15 Grand Slams. I mean only, sorry it’s a lot, but compared to what he has now.”
Explaining why he always backed the Serb to surpass Federer and Nadal, the 54-year-old continued: “They are the three best players of all time, so to work with one of them is something so special, but if I had to pick one, I would pick Novak because I always thought he would become the greatest.
“First because he would play longer, his body is healthier than the two others’ body. And I feel that his motivation to become the greatest was so huge.
“And if you looked at how many Grand Slams per year he was winning, I thought at some point he was gonna become the greatest, and he did it.”
So it’s no surprise Mouratoglou would have wanted to go on that journey with Djokovic. “So for that reason, as we are involved in this competitive world, and [if] you work with one of the three, you want to work with the one you think if gonna become the greatest,” he added.
Mouratoglou became best known for coaching Serena Williams. He joined her team in 2012 and worked with her for 10 of her 23 Grand Slam title wins. Since then, he has coached Simona Halep, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune.
The Frenchman is now working with Osaka, who made a hilarious revelation about their new partnership and how “good” she thought Mouratoglou was as a coach.
“The fact that he was Serena’s coach made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big,” she said.
“This isn’t rude because I found out it’s not true, but I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena. Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach.”
