Patrick Mouratoglou's "Ultimate GOAT" ft. Rafael Nadal & Roger Federer
Out of the last 77 Grand Slam tournaments, 63 have been won by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the Big 3 of men's tennis. The entire tennis world is of the opinion that such a magical display of sheer dominance by three top players at the same time is unlikely to be repeated ever again.
Current and former players and pundits often build their perfect tennis player by choosing qualities from different players. Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou is the latest to reveal who he thinks is the best when it comes to the different aspects of tennis.
While it is common for the Big-3 members to find a place in every expert's 'perfect player', this might be the first time that Nick Kyrgios has made it to someone's list.
Mouratoglou recently posted a video on his social media in which he was asked to pick a name for certain aspects in rapid-fire form. Here are his first-choice players and their best qualities:
Best volley: Roger Federer
Best serve: Nick Kyrgios
Best return: Novak Djokovic
Best backhand: Novak Djokovic
Biggest fighter: Rafael Nadal
You can find the video here:
As expected, the post received all kinds of reactions from fans. While some completely agreed with Mouratoglou, others built their own 'best player' in the comments section, as asked by the Frenchman.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are fighting for the Grand Slam record
When Novak Djokovic won the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, the Big 3 were tied for 20 Grand Slam titles each for the first time.
Having won the first three Majors last year, it looked like the Serb would be the first one to reach #21. The World No. 3 was on the cusp of becoming the first man since Rod Laver to win the Calendar Grand Slam before Daniil Medvedev outclassed him in straight sets in the 2021 US Open final.
nadal, djokovic and federer have won
16 of the last 17 australian open
17 of the last 18 roland garros
17 of the last 19 wimbledon
12 of the last 18 us open https://t.co/iE2ooYYRoE
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal reached Australia at the end of 2021 after being sidelined for around six months due to his long-term foot injury. Defending champion Djokovic was deported from the country a day before the tournament kicked off due to his COVID-19 unvaccinated status.
In one of the most shocking developments, Nadal became the first among the two men to reach 21 Grand Slam crowns as he clinched his second title Down Under. He further extended his lead over Djokovic and Federer by winning his 14th French Open in June.
The 2022 Wimbledon Championships saw Djokovic win his seventh title in London, leaving him just one title short of Nadal's 22.