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Coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes Novak Djokovic does not have as many fans and is not as popular as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, making the Serbian more determined to finish ahead His two biggest rivals. Although Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are part of the Big Three, it’s no secret that the Serb has never enjoyed the same popularity as the Spaniards and Swiss.
But now, Djokovic has a record 24 Grand Slam titles and has spent the longest few weeks at No. 1 in the world. With Djokovic’s recent achievements, some believe the debate over the greatest player of all time is over.
“His mentality. He is a conqueror and a ruler. He likes to prove people wrong. In fact, the other two have so many fans and he has fewer fans that he is not as popular as the other two Welcome, I think it gave him a desire to seek revenge in some way.
The best answer is to be undoubtedly better than them in terms of achievements,” Mouratoglou told Tennis Grand Slam via Tennis Letter.
Mouratoglou said the fact that Novak Djokovic has fewer fans than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal drives him to be better:
“His mentality.
He is the conqueror and ruler. He loves proving people wrong. In fact, the other two people have too many fans and he has fewer fans, so he… pic.twitter.com/OYWhJrjw6X — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 21, 2023
Mouratoglou: Djokovic loves to dominate
At 36, Djokovic has accomplished so much, but he still looks determined and hungry to succeed.
Mouratoglou was not surprised as he considers Djokovic to be someone who “wants to dominate and get better”. “All three had main qualities, but some were better at certain things than others. All three loved tennis, and perhaps Roger was the one who loved tennis the most.
He is a player, he loves tennis, he breathes tennis, lives tennis, he has been that way his whole career and that’s why he plays this type of tennis. Rafa likes to fight on the court, likes to suffer, likes to go from the first point to the last point. This is where he excels and where he feels more energetic.
Novak wants to dominate, he wants to be better, and that’s what makes him better than the other two. He is willing to be better than anyone else and to be the best. This has been his motivation throughout his life. I think he’s better than (Federer and Nadal) in that regard,” Mouratoglou said.