"Serena Williams was scared to move... I thought we are in trouble" - Patrick Mouratoglou reveals how he helped American win Wimbledon by lying to her
Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently revealed that at the beginning of one of the Wimbledon Championships, the legendary player was struggling with volleys. He recalled a simple trick that helped Williams overcome her fear and win the tournament.
Mouratoglou started training Williams in 2012. The French coach played a crucial role in getting the former World No. 1 back to the top of the WTA rankings. Williams won 10 Grand Slams, three WTA Finals titles, and an Olympic gold medal (London Olympics) during her association with Mouratoglou.
In an interview with the Tennis Insider Club, the 53-year-old discussed Serena Williams' struggles with volleys during a tournament. He said the 23-time Grand Slam champion was hesitant to move deep into the court.
"Serena, I don't remember which year she played at Wimbledon and she was missing all the volleys at the start of the tournament. And because she was missing at the net, she was scared to move inside the court. And I mean it's automatic, when you miss at the net and you are not fast enough to take it and hit a winner. And I thought well, if she continues to play like this, we are in trouble," Mouratoglou said.
The Frenchman then revealed how a lie helped Williams gain confidence. He told the American that she won 80 percent of her points at the net, which was not the case.
"So after the match, I remember she was biking and we always talk after the match. And I said to her, 'When I see a short ball, I am so comfortable, I can sleep on my two ears.' 'Why do you say that?' (she asked). I said, 'Because you win 80% of the points at the net,' which was not true," he added.
Mouratoglou's strategy turned out to be successful as Williams overcame her fear of approaching the net.
"'I thought I was terrible at the net,' that's what she told me. 'I was terrible.' She started to play without any fear forward. Because believed it she started to be really efficient. And she won 80% of the points at the net until the end of the of the tournament and she won Wimbledon. This thing that was not true happened to be true," he concluded.
"She was watching men’s tennis" - Patrick Mouratoglou disclosed the strategy used by Serena Williams to improve her prowess
Patrick Mouratoglou revealed later in the podcast that Serena Williams was fond of watching men's tennis and wanted to do what they did on the court. He was quoted as saying [22:48]:
"Serena was watching tennis every single night, every single night. She was watching men’s tennis because she was always saying, 'Guys can do things that women don’t do on a tennis court. And maybe I can learn this.'"
Mouratoglou said the former World No.1 would come to him to learn about men's tennis. He said she had that psyche because she was passionate.
"And then she was coming to me and say, 'Oh, look, I saw that. Can we do that? I want to learn to do this. You know?' I mean, she always had this idea because she was passionate. So that’s the first thing," he added.
Serena Williams rewrote history by winning her 23rd Grand Slam title in 2017, while she was associated with the French coach. Mouratoglou has also won four Coach of the Year awards in his career.