Last October, Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach at the centre of Serena Williams's US Open final meltdown, called for on-court coaching to be permitted at all events. It came after his player received the warning for coaching when Mouratoglou was spotted signalling from the players’ box in the defeat to Naomi Osaka. Roland-Garros Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in same half of juicy French Open draw YESTERDAY AT 15:19 "First of all, it’s authorised for women on the WTA Tour, it’s not authorised on the ATP at all but the WTA gives the opportunity to the players to take their coach on the court once per set at all the tournaments all year," Mouratoglou said. Mouratoglou speaks with Serena Williams in a practice session in Melbourne Image credit: Getty Images "Only in the Grand Slams it’s not allowed, I think this needed to be said. You are right, I don’t know if it was emotional, but clearly, she [Serena] was a bit lost during that match and I felt like I had to do make I could to help. “And that’s not allowed but on the other side it’s tolerated because the coaches are doing it at the matches almost every day, we all know that. If it’s not too obvious the Chair Umpire lets it happen, and if it becomes too obvious, in general, he tells the player, “please tell your coach to slow down otherwise I am going to have to warn you”. "So to answer your question, and it’s a very difficult question, how can you give a warning to a coach as he doesn’t risk anything – maybe it should be the case – I don’t know. More than that, it should be consistent. If the rule is the rule, then all the Chair Umpires should act the same when this happens. That’s the number one thing to say. "And if it is tolerated, it’s difficult for the coaches to know if they should do it or not because the other ones are doing it and if you don’t do it with your player you feel your player has a disadvantage compared to the other ones. So I didn’t answer the question exactly but that’s my feeling." But on the WTA Tour, does Serena ask you to come down on the court? "That’s a very good question and I’m happy to answer this question," he adds. "She does not, but that’s a decision we took together. At the start she wanted me to do it – she asked me, “would you do it if I ask you?” "And I said I don’t think it’s a good idea and I’ll tell you why. I think one of her main qualities is figuring out how to win, and she’s been able to do that her whole career, without me or without anyone entering the court. I feel like it would make her a bit weaker if, at any point, she would feel like she needs me. When someone has such a big strength you shouldn’t touch it. Mouratoglou has coached Williams since 2012 Image credit: Getty Images "I don’t want her to start to think that she needs me to as all her career she found a way to turn matches around and its one of her biggest assets. So when I explained that to her she said, “oh you are right, let’s keep it like this”. That was a good idea for her, I don’t think it’s a good idea for everyone, but for her it’s the right choice. Roger Federer and Serena Williams are probably the two most important people in tennis ever as players obviously, but in general as ambassadors, Wilander posits. So with coaching would we have seen them dominate more? Or might we not have had the brilliance of Williams or Federer had more coaching been allowed? "Whoever I would've coached, I don't think I would've beaten Serena - no chance," Mouratoglou says. "I think Serena is Serena, with or without me. "I think I helped her take the best out of herself at a period of time in her career. But I don't think that if I had coached Sharapova, or whoever else, I would've been able to beat Serena. Serena is just Serena. We're just the coach, a part of their story, where we can make a big difference in their career. Serena or Roger may be the best players of all time, but with or without us, they would still be top, top players. "Maybe they would've won less Grand Slams, but their qualities would still be there. With Serena, when I started to work with her she already had 13 Grand Slams. She was already a little bit difficult to beat. Serena Williams of the United States plays a forehand in her third round match against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine during day six of the 2019 Image credit: Getty Images "I trust my job and the quality of my work, but I'm trying also to be lucid, and I can't make a player be someone that they're not. The players are who they are, their potential is their potential - I'm not going to take a player who is No 3 in the world, and make her become much better than Serena if she doesn't already have the possibility to become better than Serena. "I don't think anybody can be better than the best Serena." Download the podcast HERE Roland-Garros 'A complete player' - Henin tips Osaka to dominate women's game 26/05/2021 AT 08:11<doc-sep>Patrick Mouratoglou, the famous Greek-French tennis coach of Serena Williams since 2012 was extremely proud of Stefanos Tsitsipas’s victory over Federer, having also trained him at his tennis academy when he was a teenager. Mouratoglou speaking to Euronews after Tsitsipas’ astonishing win against Roger Federer, said he has never had another player beat the world’s former number 1. “When you have a kid that grew up at your tennis academy and beats the best player of all times… it’s impossible to describe.” He was extremely proud of the 20-year-old and even went on to say, “when you beat Roger playing like that… I think he can win [the Australian Open].” Moratoglou does not think it will be an easy task to beat current world number 2 Rafael Nadal, but he believes that Tsitsipas is mentally prepared. The Mouratoglou Academy is located in Biot, in the French Riviera and was founded in 1996 by Patrick who always knew coaching meant the world to him. “To make someone embrace their potential is the most significant accomplishment I could dream of.” It is the biggest tennis academy in Europe and one of the best in the world because of its fantastic sports facilities and training methods. In October 2017 on social media, Mouratoglou also posted, “Being half Greek, I am particularly happy and proud that my foundation Cham’Seed and Mouratoglou Tennis Academy have been part of that: Stefanos Tsitsipas is the first Greek player in the history to reach Top100 ATP. Fantastic achievement and a first milestone on a long journey that is just starting.”<doc-sep>In an interview to Marca, Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou spoke about tennis in general. The Frenchman got on the headlines after last year's US Open final for coaching Serena during the match against Naomi Osaka. Mouratoglou thinks on-court coaching should be introduced in the Majors as well. 'I love tennis, I want it to keep being interested and for it you have to get new players involved', said Mouratoglou. 'The 70% of our fans is more than 35 years old. The sport is a big entertainment market. You have to innovate and be more creative to bring new people in. If you could speak with players in mid-matches and you could listen it on TV, it would help the fan to understand the game. I created a training app, that you can download on all the mobiles.' About Naomi Osaka, Mouratoglou added: 'For any player who wins her first Grand Slam or becomes number one dealing with pressure is very difficult. We have a lot of examples of players who achieved it and then did not do well for more than a season.' About Maria Sharapova's chances to reach the highest level of tennis again, Mouratoglou said: 'Since when she came back to the competition she had a lot of injuries. I think that her main worry is to stay healthy to win some matches, some tournaments, and then we will see if she is ready to reach more higher heights.' Can Simona Halep be a consistent WTA Rankings leader? 'Simona made a brutal effort last year to win her first Major. It's clear that she is the number although she has rivals like Serena, Osaka, Kerber, Stephens and others.' Who will in Australia? 'I think Federer or Djokovic for men, and Serena for women.' ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title<doc-sep>
Sandra Harwitt Special to USA TODAY MELBOURNE — Patrick Mouratoglou has been at Serena Williams’ side as her coach of record since she suffered her only first-round upset at a Grand Slam at the 2012 French Open. Since she made the call to Mouratoglou asking if she could come and train at his then Paris-based academy for Wimbledon, the two have been a fruitful partnership. Williams not only won Wimbledon and the US Open that year, but a total of 10 majors to date since working with Mouratoglou. In a news conference Monday after Williams beat Simona Halep, Mouratoglou was asked if he had been worried that he would lose his job after the US Open final in which Williams received a warning for being coached from the box. He indicated the thought never entered his mind. “No, I didn’t worry about that at all,” he said. “For many reasons….First of all, I hope that every time a coach gets a code violation for coaching he doesn’t get fired, otherwise there will be guys fired every two days. Second, I hope that seven years’ relationship is a bit stronger than a chair umpire. Third, that would be — if she would have done something — I think that would be an emotional decision and she doesn’t do that.” Later when asked why his relationship with Williams has endured when so many coaching alliances peter out, Mouratoglou highlighted her personality traits as an important dynamic. “She’s a very loyal person,” he said. “She’s incredibly loyal. Answering another question that you asked, did I think she would stop (with me) after the US Open? No, because she’s loyal. “I think she’s also very responsible. Like, she doesn’t blame others for her problems. She loses a match, she doesn’t say it’s my fault even though I think it’s my fault, too. She’s strong enough and courageous enough, and confident enough to be able to look at herself and say, ‘I failed.’" More:Serena Williams takes down No. 1 Halep, reaches Australian Open quarterfinals Mouratoglou went on to discuss the need for trust between coach and player to be a successful partnership. He also revealed that while he supported Williams' decision to come back quickly after giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, in early September 2017, he felt she needed more time to be ready to play full-out. “I think she was very motivated last year, but it was just too early for her,” he said. “I don’t think she was ready. She was ready to reach a final, but there is a big difference between reaching a final and winning it. “You cannot buy time. Things take time. To get back in shape after a baby, a few months are not enough.” Asked if Williams is now in the right place to win a 24th Grand Slam title here at the Australian Open, an accomplishment that would tie Margaret Court’s record for most Grand Slam trophies, he didn’t hesitate in his response. “Of course I believe she will win,” Mouratoglou said. “If I don’t believe she will win I should coach somebody else. I always think she can win…I think I should be in that state of mind because she’s Serena. I hope she will win. That’s 100 percent the goal. “I don’t know she will win because I don’t know the history of what’s gonna happen in the future. But I think she will win, yes.”