Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou reflects on Novak Djokovic's 'self-belief' in challenging Rafael Nadal & Roger Federer

Serena Williams' former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, spoke in depth about Novak Djokovic ending Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's duopoly over men's tennis in the 2010s. The Frenchman attributed the Serb's "self-belief" as the main driver behind his unbridled success while insisting that every budding player should focus on excelling at the mental part of the game.

Djokovic began his career as one of the best young prospects in men's tennis history. However, by the time he was 23, he had just one Major title to his name. Nadal and Federer had eschewed a never-before-seen dominance on the ATP Tour back then, having triumphed at 23 of the 26 Majors between 2004 Wimbledon and the 2010 US Open.

Not to be deterred, Novak Djokovic worked incredibly hard to put together a stellar 2011 season, where he picked up three of the four Grand Slam tournaments to finally break the wheel. And the rest, as they say, is history. Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams to 10 Major titles in 2012-17, referenced the 24-time Major-winning Serb's indomitable mentality as he spoke to Tennis Channel earlier this week about what sets a legend apart from simply a good player.

"I come back to Novak, you remember when Rafa and Roger were winning absolutely everything, all the top 10 players were saying it's impossible to win a Slam with those two guys and plus, there was Murray," Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou said in the segment with Tennis Channel.

"It felt impossible and then a young 19-year-old came up and he said, 'I'm going to beat those guys.' And not only did he say it, but he made it. He made it because he believed in himself so much."

The 54-year-old also insisted that during the interaction that Djokovic had, he remained headstrong in spite of his detractors constantly pulling him down.

"And when you were seeing his game at that time, you'd think, 'How come this guy think he's going to beat those two guys that are unbeatable?'" Mouratoglou added. "But the belief, the self-belief, the fact that they want more all the time, that they want to always progress, where a lot of players are always scared to lose what they have."

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Novak Djokovic leads both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in their respective head-to-head records

Djokovic converses with Nadal and Federer at Laver Cup '22 | Image Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic had played second fiddle to both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the late 2000s. While the Serb had dropped 14 of the first 18 matches in his rivalry against the Spaniard, he did moderately better against the Swiss maestro, as he lost 13 of their first 19 encounters until 2010.

After hitting his physical prime in 2011, Djokovic turned both rivalries on their heads. The 24-time Major winner eventually ended up with a 31-29 and 27-23 edge against Nadal and Federer, respectively. Although the 37-year-old trails Nadal 7-11 in their head-to-head record at the Majors, he can take pride in having defeated the 22-time Major winner at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Djokovic does lead Federer 11-6 in their head-to-head record at the Majors, though, notably defeating the 20-time Major winner in all three of their Wimbledon title clashes (2014-15, 2019).