Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic left out, one American legend gets into Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou's Top-5 servers of all-time list

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were left out of former Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou's list of his top five servers of all time. However, the Frenchman included American legend Pete Sampras on his list, along with Nick Kyrgios and three others.

Mouratoglou, who has won a total of 36 singles titles as a coach, has worked with players such as Serena Williams, Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka, and others. The veteran coach often shares gameplay tips, personal rankings on playing styles, and other tennis-related insights.

On Wednesday, Mouratoglou posted a couple of videos ranking his top five servers of all time. He began the list in descending order, starting with No. 5, Goran Ivanišević, Novak Djokovic's former coach and the 2001 Wimbledon champion. Mouratoglou praised Ivanišević for being a left-hander and for playing a key role in the ATP's decision to use slower grass courts.

At No. 4 was 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras. Mouratoglou highlighted the American's accuracy, unique toss, and powerful second-serve.

“You may remember Pete Sampras as a player way under 2 meters tall and with an incredible serve. The three things that were standing out were his accuracy, he was known to literally hit targets as small as a coin when he was practicing. His unique toss, all his opponents were saying how impossible it was to read his serve, thanks to the toss that was the exact same, whether he would hit flat, slice, or kick. Three, his second serve, that he was often hitting as hard as his first serve with a huge success rate," he said.

Third on Mouratoglou's list was Croatia's Ivo Karlović, who set a record with 44 aces in a three-set match in 2014. Mouratoglou noted that Karlović's second serve bounced extremely high, making it difficult to return.

He ranked Nick Kyrgios as second on the list, highlighting Kyrgios' unique combination of height (1.93m) and his ability to serve accurately even under pressure.

At the top of the list was John Isner. Mouratoglou pointed out that Isner's height (2.08m) gave him a significant advantage, and his technique was excellent. Isner holds the record for defeating Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, during which he hit 113 aces.

“John Isner has always had the best stats when it comes to serving. Not only is his first serve deadly, but he also has one of the best second serve of all times. His kick is bouncing so high that if the opponent is not able to contact the ball at the right moment, he cannot control it,” he added.

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Patrick Mouratoglou names Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic's attributes that form his perfect GOAT

Mouratoglou names Roger Federer’s, Rafael Nadal’s, and Novak Djokovic’s attributes for his Perfect GOAT- Source: Getty

In a video posted on his Instagram account in July 2022, Mouratoglou described what his perfect player would look like, combining attributes from Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Tsitsipas, and Medvedev. He shared his thoughts while answering quick-fire questions.

The questions were as follows:

“Most talented: Roger Federer

Best forehand: Stefanos Tsitsipas

Footwork: Daniil Medvedev (East/West) and Roger Federer (North/South)

Most intense: Rafael Nadal

Most athletic: Novak Djokovic”

After parting ways with Holger Rune, Mouratoglou has been coaching four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka since September 2024.