Novak Djokovic is the greatest returner of all time, declares Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou
Novak Djokovic was called the greatest returner of all time by Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Mouratoglou is among the finest tennis coaches in recent times and often takes to social media to talk about various aspects of the sport. One of the Frenchman's most recent videos was about the Top 5 returners in tennis history.
Mouratoglou put Djokovic at the top of the list, claiming that some of the best servers in the world had a poor record against him.
"Novak has the greatest return of all times. Even some of the best servers in the world have terrible statistics on his serve when they had to play him," the Frenchman said.
Mouratoglou had 2002 Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian in second spot and said that the Argentine had the ability to return his opponents' first serve with topspin.
"He had a unique style with incredible hands, and he was able to return opponents' first serve with topspin," the 52-year-old said.
Andre Agassi was Mouratoglou's choice for No. 3 and he pointed out the eight-time Grand Slam champion's ability to break Pete Sampras, who is regarded as one of the greatest servers of all time.
"He is one of the greatest returners of all times. He had to face Sampras many times in his career and he was able to break him on many occasions," the French coach said.
At No. 4, Mouratoglou went for Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman and said that his return was one of his biggest weapons.
"Jonas was No. 1 in the world in doubles, No. 4 in singles, and his return was one of his biggest weapons," Serena Williams' former coach said.
Mouratoglou put the legendary Jimmy Connors in fifth position and said that he had a special style of returning.
"He had a special style and he was returning by jumping in the direction of the ball," the Frenchman remarked.
Novak Djokovic lost in the semifinals of Dubai Tennis Championships
Djokovic's unbeaten run in the 2023 season came to an end as he lost 6-4, 6-4 to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. This was his fifth defeat against the Russian, who will face Andrey Rublev in the final.
The Serb now has a 15-1 record this season and it's yet to be seen whether he will compete at the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Masters. If Djokovic isn't allowed to compete in either tournament, he will return to action during the clay-court season.