Mouratoglou Has Role in Williams’ Win

Written by: Staff on 10th July 2012

Mouratoglou Has Role in Williams’ Win

epa03299544 Serena Williams of the US reacts after defeating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the women's final match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 07 July 2012. EPA/JONATHAN BRADY |

Serena Williams emotional victory at Wimbledon highlighted the effort that her team put into her well being post her pulmonary embolism of February 2011, which almost ended her career.

After her straight set win over Agnieszka Radwanska, she climbed up into the Friends Box and hugged a bunch of folks: her mother Oracene, her father Richard, her sisters Isha and Venus, her media rep, Val Vogt, her agent, Jill Smoller, and her trainer Esther Lee, who she says was the one demanded that she go to the hospital when the blood clot in her foot was threatening her life.

“From the day I got to the hospital until the day I left, they never left the room,” she said. “Like they slept there, And they didn’t have to do that. They didn’t owe me that. That meant a lot to me. Even though I was trying to keep the spirits up, everyone was making jokes, it’s hard to find people in your life that sleep there every night.

“Those are memories that I’d rather not endure, but if you have to, it’s unbelievable to have those people by your side.”

There were two other key members of her team whom she thanked; her long time hitting partner and touring coach, Sasha Bijan, and her new coaching consultant Patrick Mouratoglou, who owns his own academy in France. Serena began working with Mouratoglou after Virginie Razzano stunned her in the first round of Roland Garros.

“It hurt her, of course, because she wanted to win,” Mouratoglou said.

“She was ready to win and she didn’t and lost the first round. But the champions when they are hurt they react and I think the best reaction is to win the Grand Slam that come after that one.”

Mouratoglou wouldn’t reveal exactly what he was working on with Serena, but she said that she was hitting serves at his academy and she ended up setting a Wimbledon women’s record with 102 aces.

“She’s already an unbelievable champion so it’s just about the details, ” he said. “She’s 100% into her tennis project. The ability to find solutions to win all the time, even when she’s really playing bad, she was maybe not that confident at the start of the tournament and found a way to win. She’s unbelievable as a personality and as a character. The will she has, the motivation she has. I think she has everything you can expect from a champion. So 99% of the job is already done. She wants to improve every day, to succeed and she does everything 100%. She’s fighting every point. What else could you ask from any player.”

Topics: Mouratoglou, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis News, Wimbledon tennis news