Roger Federer has the best slice backhand of all time: Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou
Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently opined that tennis icon Roger Federer has the best slice backhand of all time.
Mouratoglou has coached a lot of big names during his coaching career. The Frenchman coached Serena Williams for almost a decade. Besides coaching the American tennis great, Mouratoglou has also coached Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Coco Gauff, and Simona Halep, to name a few.
In Halep's absence from the WTA tour due to her involvement in the doping scandal, Mouratoglou started coaching Holger Rune.
Patrick Mouratoglou often makes analytical videos on social media platforms. In the past, the tennis coach has analyzed certain matches and the techniques of certain players. On March 9, Mouratoglou uploaded a video to Instagram where he talked about the top ATP players with the best slice backhands in their arsenal.
"Let's talk about the best slice backhands of all time and let's start on the men's side."
Picking his top three players, the Frenchman chose former World No. 1 Pat Rafter as his No. 3. Speaking further, he said that the Australian's slice was inconsistent but always gave him results.
"No. 3 Pat Rafter, Pat had a slow slice without much consistency but it was always deep and thanks to it he was able to create a lot of short balls from the opponent that he could use to charge the net," Mouratoglou said.
Six-time Grand Slam singles winner Stefan Edberg made it to number two on the list.
"No. 2 Stefan Edberg. At his best, he was the master of slice and he was using it a lot to approach the net."
Unsurprisingly, Mouratoglou's pick for the player with the best slice backhand of all time on the ATP Tour was 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer. Elaborating further, the Frenchman said that the Swiss icon mastered the "cross-court" slice.
"No. 1 Roger Federer. He had the best slice backhand because his slice was low, it was fast and he mastered the short cross court slice," Mouratoglou added.
"The perfection at work" - Patrick Mouratoglou mesmerizied by the sheer talent of Roger Federer
Roger Federer retired from tennis in 2022 after his Laver Cup appearance. During his playing career, the Swiss has earned the appreciation of many stalwarts from within the game itself.
Mouratoglou once expressed his admiration for the all-time great on social media. The Frenchman shared an old clip from a 2019 match of Federer and heaped praise on the tennis icon.
"The perfection at work with @rogerfederer. The art of bouncing from being wrong footed into wrong footing the opponent," Mouratoglou wrote on his Instagram post.
The veteran recently revealed the latest edition of his iconic shoe, The Roger, presented by On Running, a Swiss sneaker company.