Patrick Mouratoglou has proclaimed that tennis legends Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are like football icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo respectively.
The renowned tennis coach feels Federer is similar to Messi because of his “pure crazy talent”, while Djokovic is like Ronaldo due to his work ethic and attention to detail.
Djokovic and Federer shared one of tennis’ best ever rivalries, with the former holding a 27-23 record against the latter from their 50 matches between 2006 and 2020.
The Serbian has won a record 24 Grand Slam titles, while the Swiss, who retired in 2022, sits third on the all-time men’s list with 20 majors.
While tennis fans have debated who is the greatest between Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal throughout the ‘Big 3’ era, a similar argument has taken place in football.
Ronaldo and Messi, widely regarded as two of the greatest footballers in history, have divided fans having been the leading stars in the sport for much of the last 15 years.
In a video posted 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.”
Following Djokovic’s remarkable 2023 season, Mouratoglou lauded the 36-year-old’s longevity and argued he had sealed his status as the greatest player of all time.
“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 Frenchman assessed in an interview with 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.”
World No 1 Djokovic is in action at the 2024 Australian Open, where he will face world No 4 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals on Friday. The Serbian is seeking a record-extending 11th title in Melbourne.
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