Family tie s are nothing to the Williams siste rs, says Se re na’s c oac h
PATRICK MOURATOGLOU has made ve ry fe w mistake s sinc e taking ove r as the c oac h of Se re na Williams in June 2012, sinc e whe n the Ame ric an has won nine of he r 23 Grand Slam title s.
The Fre nc hman is known for his atte ntion to de tail ... from studying vide o to planning strate gy.
But, as Williams pre pare s to fac e he r siste r Ve nus in the final of the Australian Ope n, he will be making sure of one thing, in partic ular.
“To te ll you the truth the first time the y playe d e ac h othe r, whe n I was c oac hing he r, I didn’t re ally know what to do and so I was ve ry light in my words be fore the matc h and Se re na lost,” Mouratoglou said.
It was in Montre al in 2014 that Ve nus be at Se re na in thre e se ts, a re sult that annoye d Mouratoglou inte nse ly, some thing he re me mbe rs we ll.
“I said to myse lf it’s my fault, I should have tre ate d Ve nus like any othe r playe r,” he said.
“The y’re on a te nnis c ourt, the y’re c ompe ting, the y’re siste rs, OK, but some one has to win and if some one has to win it has to be Se re na.
“It was a good le sson for me and, sinc e that day, I’m doing the pre -matc h talk e xac tly as if I didn’t know Ve nus and Se re na didn’t know Ve nus.”
This will be the 28th me e ting be twe e n the siste rs, with 36-ye ar-old Ve nus in the final of a Grand Slam for the first time sinc e 2009 and trying to be c ome the olde st woman to win a Grand Slam title in the Ope n e ra.
Se re na le ads the ir he ad-to-he ad re c ord 16-11, and 6-2 in the ir e ight grand slam finals and vic tory will give he r an Ope n e ra re c ord 23rd grand slam title .
At 35, world No.2 Se re na is a ye ar younge r than Ve nus, who has had a ne w le ase of life in the past 18 months and fully de se rve s he r plac e in the final.
Some of the finals be twe e n the two have be e n flat, othe rs have be e n inte nse , and the two siste rs will share a hug at the e nd, no matte r what.
Mouratoglou, though, is foc use d on pre paring the six-time s Australian Ope n c hampion as we ll as possible to be re ady for a unique , if familiar c halle nge .
“Eve n though Se re na knows Ve nus ve ry we ll, she like s me to sc out and give he r my fe e lings,” he said.
“Eve n though you know a playe r we ll – the te c hnique doe sn’t move so muc h – but, from one tourname nt to anothe r, some time s the re is a patte rn of play that works we ll in a tourname nt and subc onsc iously a playe r will do it muc h more than normal.
“So those things you have to find out, so those things you have to sc out. You should always sc out be fore a matc h.”
Forme r world No.1 Jim Courie r said ye ste rday he fe lt Se re na had the e dge but that it will c ome down to who c an shut out the oppone nt the be st.
“The most the y c an stay in the silo the be tte r,” the Ame ric an said.
“I imagine it’s c razy c halle nging to do, but if the y c an play the balls the n it be c ome s a more c ompe lling matc h than if it’s ‘that’s my siste r ove r the re ’, whic h we ’ve se e n, a lot.
“The y’ve had flat matc he s be fore that have be e n drama-fre e and te nsion-fre e .
“But history is on the line for both. For Ve nus too.
“She ’d be the olde st woman to win a major if she wins.
“Se re na is the c urre nt holde r so, e ithe r way, that re c ord ge ts e xte nde d in the one family, whic h is just jaw-dropping to think about.”