‘Lost Six Times in a Row’- Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach Patrick Mouratoglou Brings Holger Rune’s Tennis Adversity to Dissect the Mind of a Champion

Patrick Mouratoglou, famously known for being Serena Williams‘ long-term coach is one of the most successful coaches in tennis history. Plenty of current established players including  Stefanos Tsitsipas and Coco Gauff broke into the top 10 under his guidance. Mouratoglou has built a strong reputation in the tennis fraternity. The experts are well aware that he is one of the most influential figures in the sport right now.

Quite naturally, the French coach also knows how to separate the best from the rest. In a recent interview with Vogue, he weighed in on the important aspects of a champion which seemingly was the highlight of the discussion.

Serena Williams’ ex-coach reveals the requirements to become a champion

In the interview, Mouratoglou was asked if something other than racket skills is important for a player to grow as a champion. Without any hesitation, the 53-year-old added the importance of mentality. He said via Vogue, “So that’s the first thing we say: the belief. The second is competitiveness. Some guys are just good at winning. Of course, you can work on developing this—but when they have this naturally inside themselves, it’s a big difference.”

He then referred to Holger Rune who he is currently working with. They started in October last year when the Dane was outside the top 30 and going through a lean patch. He said, “Rune had lost six times in a row. And when we started, he had three tournaments to play and he told me, ‘I want to win all three.’ Which made no sense for a guy of that ranking, but he really believed it.” Rune went on to win two of those three tournaments and made the finals of the other.  “He believed—otherwise, there’s no chance he would do it.”, added Mouratoglou.

In addition to that, Holger Rune has also credited Mouratoglou for his instant jump in rankings.

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Holger Rune credits Patrick Mouratoglou for his success

The World Number 6 suggested that Mouratoglou focused more on the mental aspect of the game than his Danish coach. He believes that once players reach the highest level, it’s vital to weigh more importance on the mental side of the game. In just about a month under Mouratoglou, Rune went from world number 31 to world number 11, and is currently sixth in the rankings.

Mouratoglou has also previously weighed in on the importance of passion earlier this year. According to him, passion is the key element to greatness and he believes that Rune has it in abundance.

Where do you rank Mouratoglou among the best tennis coaches in history? Do let us know in the comments.

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