Coach Patrick Mouratoglou thinks Novak Djokovic not having as many fans and not being as liked as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer made the Serb more determined to end up ahead of his two biggest rivals. Although Djokovic, Nadal and Federer all belong to the Big Three group, it is not a secret that the Serb has never enjoyed the level of popularity that the Spaniard and the Swiss have.

But now, Djokovic is a record 24-time Grand Slam champion and has spent the most weeks at the world No 1 spot. Following Djokovic’s recent achievements, some believe the debate about the greatest of all-time has been sealed.

“His mindset. He’s a conqueror & dominator. He loves to prove people wrong. The fact that there were so many fans for the two others and less for him that he was not as liked as the two others, I felt that it created in him the will to make revenge one way or the another.

The best answer to that is to be undoubtedly better than them in terms of achievement,” Mouratoglou told Tennis Majors, via The Tennis Letter.

Mouratoglou says the fact that Novak Djokovic had less fans then Roger Federer & Rafa Nadal motivated him to be better:

“His mindset.

He’s a conqueror & dominator. He loves to prove people wrong. The fact that there were so many fans for the two others and less for him that he… pic.twitter.com/OYWhJrjw6X — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 21, 2023

Mouratoglou: Djokovic loves to dominate

At 36 and having accomplished so much, Djokovic is still looking very determined and hungry for success.

Mouratoglou isn’t surprised since he thinks that Djokovic is someone who “wants to dominate and be better.” “All three have the main qualities but some are better than others in some areas. All three love tennis, maybe, probably, Roger is the one who loves tennis the most.

He’s a player, he loves tennis, he’s breathing tennis, living tennis, all his career and that’s why he was playing that type of tennis. Rafa loves to fight on the court, to suffer, to fight from the first point to the last, this is where he excels and this is where he feels more alive.

Novak wants to dominate, he wants to be better, and that’s where he is better than the two others. He has the willingness to be better than anyone and dominate to be the very best. It has been a driving force for him all his life. I think he’s superior to [Federer and Nadal] in that area,” Mouratoglou said.

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