"Hard to take seriously" - Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou receives pushback from John Millman over controversial Olympic gold take

John Millman recently took umbrage at Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou's assertions about a Major title holding much more significance for a tennis player compared to an Olympic gold medal.

Mouratoglou first stirred controversy earlier on Monday (October 9), when he claimed that winning a Grand Slam tournament is "100 times" more sought after by most players than securing a gold medal for their country.

"A lot of tennis players don’t feel that it [Olympics] is such an important event for tennis. Initially, tennis was at the Olympics, then it got out, and finally, tennis was reintroduced. As a consequence, there is no history between tennis and the Olympic Games. They feel that a Grand Slam is 100 times more important for a tennis player than the Olympic Games," the Frenchman said in an Instagram reel on his account.

Mouratoglou, however, irked a large section of the tennis community with his comments. Former World No. 33 John Millman happens to be one of the famous coach's detractors over his opinion regarding the Olympics.

The Aussie took to his social media account on Tuesday (October 10) to assert that the Frenchman, who was Serena Williams' head coach in 2012-23, has little to no experience as a professional tennis player to make such high-handed claims. He reposted Mouratoglou's initial comments with the following caption:

"With all due respect it’s hard to take this seriously. On this topic, I’ll take the word of the players who’ve competed there."

He conceded in his thread of posts that tennis players were free to prioritize either the Majors or the Olympics, while taking more potshots at the French coach.

"Not every athlete will feel the same. But I take their opinions a whole lot more serious on this topic than someone who hasn’t sniffed an opening ceremony in their country’s colours," Millman wrote in reply to a fan.

John Millman, meanwhile, has represented Australia in the men's singles event at the Olympics twice — the 2016 Rio Games and the 2021 Tokyo Games. He exited the tournament in the second round on both occasions.

Serena Williams holds the joint record for most Olympic gold medals in tennis history at the Olympics

Serena Williams (C) poses with her women's singles gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics

Serena Williams is one of the most successful players in tennis history when it comes to Major tournaments, having won 23 titles in her illustrious career. Having said that, the American probably doesn't sell her record at the Olympics short.

Williams is the joint record holder with her older sister Venus when it comes to most Olympic gold medals. The 23-time Major winner won her only gold medal in women's singles in 2012, beating arch-rivals Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka en route to glory at the London Games.

She has also won three women's doubles gold medals while teaming up with Venus Williams at the 2000, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

All in all, Serena Williams has won 26 of her 29 matches in both singles and doubles across four editions of the Olympic Games.