"A young guy said publicly, I'm gonna beat Federer and Nadal" - When Serena Williams' ex-coach detailed what set Novak Djokovic apart from others

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were already established figures on the tour when Novak Djokovic began to make his impact felt on the big stage. The aura of invincibility that the duo exuded, however, never seemed to faze the Serb, who today holds a positive head-to-head record against both Nadal and Federer.

Talking about the self-belief that Djokovic showed from a young age, Patrick Mouratoglou once claimed that many mistook the youngster’s confidence as “cockiness.”

"I always tell this story about when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were dominating the men's Tour outrageously. I had a discussion with most of the top 10 players, and they were saying to me that it was impossible to win a Grand Slam in their mind," Patrick Mouratoglou said in a post on 20 January 2023.

"And a young guy, 19 years old, certainly came out and said this publicly, 'I'm gonna beat them' and this guy was Novak Djokovic," he added.

The Frenchman, who has coached Serena Williams in the past, said Djokovic managed to carve out a niche for himself in an era dominated by Federer and Nadal because the Serb deeply believed in his skills.

"The world said what a shame, this guy can be so cocky and things like this," Patrick Mouratoglou said. "It's not cockiness, it's confidence and he happened to do it. Not because he said it but because he deeply believed it."

---

"Champions are able to not foresee any limits" - Serena Williams' ex-coach on Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic at Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.

In the same post, Patrick Mouratoglou also spoke about how some players do not believe in their chances of being able to beat the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The Frenchman claimed that the players’ lack of self-belief severely hampers their chances of winning on the big stage like Grand Slam tournaments.

"A lot of players don't believe that they can beat Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic at all," Patrick Mouratoglou said. "Some others think they cannot beat them in a Grand Slam. So what is impossible to envision is impossible to do, simple as that."

Mouratoglou stated that players like Djokovic and Nadal, on the other hand, do not foresee any limits, a quality that sets them apart from the rest of the field.

"And the champions are able to not foresee any limits within themselves, that's a big difference," the Frenchman added.