"I thought I was a bad coach": the foreseen loss that changed everything for Patrick Mouratoglou
In Bratislava, Patrick Mouratoglou experienced a moment he describes as a "life lesson." Faced with an overmatched player, he doubted... before witnessing a victory that would change his perspective on the job forever.
He is now one of the most recognized coaches on the circuit. But Mouratoglou hasn't always been surrounded by certainty. Long before Serena Williams, Rune, or Tsitsipas, it was in the depths of a Challenger tournament in Bratislava that the Frenchman experienced one of the most significant and painful moments of his career.
On that day, his protégé was Marcos Baghdatis, a Cypriot teenager ranked around world No. 300. In the final, he had to face Dominik Hrbatý, then among the world top 15, in his home country. The match was expected to be one-sided, and Mouratoglou was filled with doubt.
"I had practically lost hope. I sat down and thought: Hrbatý is better everywhere. This is going to be a massacre."
A rare admission. A coach who doesn't believe in his player. When Baghdatis fell behind, Mouratoglou felt almost relieved to see his fears confirmed. But what followed defied all logic. Baghdatis turned the match around. He won. No one, not even his own coach, understood how. That day, it wasn't just a simple match. It was a transformation.
"After that, I told myself I was a bad coach. Because I hadn't believed in him. He believed. I didn't. And he was the one who won."
Patrick Mouratoglou has never forgotten this lesson. It has even become the foundation of his entire philosophy: to always believe, even when everything seems lost.
