Sunday Express

Murray is fighting fit for Wimbledon

On the eve of Wimbledon, JAYMI McCANN meets Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglo­u who came to the aid of struggling American player Serena Williams and has helped her win 10 Grand Slams

- By Jon Coates

ANDY MURRAY has vowed to get back to winning when he starts the defence of his Wimbledon title tomorrow.

After being hit by injuries and sickness since the start of the year, it was feared the world number one would have to pull out due to a hip problem that has troubled him for several days.

But the top seed for the world’s oldest tennis tournament, which celebrates its 140th anniversar­y this year, will battle through the pain barrier to try to win the Wimbledon crown for the third time.

After spending three hours hitting balls on the practice courts of SW19 yesterday, Murray said: “So far this year it has been difficult with illness and injuries, and the important thing is that I get back to winning ways. Players going into a tournament with injuries and niggles is nothing new. Over the years I have entered plenty with less than ideal preparatio­n.

“You just need to accept that it will be the case sometimes… and then find a way. I’ll give it everything I have over the next two weeks.”

Former Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal, 31, believes Murray, 30, will come out fighting against qualifier Alexander Bublik tomorrow on Centre Court.

The Spanish player, who returned from injury to win the French Open in Paris last month, said: “He will be there and he will be fighting.”

A leading bookmaker has given Murray the longest odds in living memory for a world number one to win Wimbledon, at 5/1.

Ladbrokes said: “Murray has had comfortabl­y the lowest amount staked on him to win Wimbledon for over 10 years, since he made his debut here. He is more favoured to be out in the first week, at 4/1, than to win.”

LOUNGING in the opulent dining room of the Langham Hotel, in London, Patrick Mouratoglo­u looks every inch the French gentleman. Tall, suave and dressed in exquisite tailoring, he exudes confidence. Which is why it comes as such a surprise that the tennis coach behind Serena Williams’ astronomic­al success suffered from shyness and anxiety as a child.

“When I was younger I had everything to be happy but I wasn’t, because I was shy to the point that I could not have a normal social life,” he explains over coffee. “It was very difficult for me to communicat­e with people. I was very sick all the time, probably because I was suffering with anxiety. I even thought of suicide. I was really suffering with no apparent reason why.

“Tennis was the thing that saved my life because that was the only place I would feel good. All the things I couldn’t do in my life I could do on a tennis court.”

As the coach to the greatest women’s tennis champion in history, Patrick is one of the most influentia­l names in the game. But now, aged 47, he is telling his zero-to-hero story in his autobiogra­phy, The Coach.

Patrick was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in Paris, in 1970. His father Pâris Mouratoglo­u founded an energy company and wanted his son to follow in the family business. But after taking tennis lessons from the age of four Patrick knew he had found his passion. As he grew older his love for the game only grew, along with his ambition to become a champion player. Unfortunat­ely, this wasn’t to be... “My parents didn’t want me to continue with tennis because they were afraid it wasn’t the right choice. They wanted me to continue with my education as they have a traditiona­l background.

“My plan was to become a pro and I had no other plan. I was devastated. I was so angry at them, you have no idea.”

Instead, Patrick went off the rails. He started misbehavin­g in school, getting involved with violence, alcohol and girls.

He sat the equivalent of A-levels aged 19 and two years later went to business school and gained some practical qualificat­ions. Aged 26 he combined his skills with his true passion, opening his now famous £35,000-a-year tennis academy in Paris.

Patrick went on to coach players such as Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchen­kova and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. But in 2012, Serena Williams walked into the academy and his life changed for ever.

At that point she had been struggling for two years to add to her 13 Grand Slam titles and had recently been badly beaten at the French Open. She asked Patrick to help her win one more Grand Slam. Instead, she went on to take 10. Serena has called Patrick the “mastermind”. And the admiration is certainly mutual.

“Serena is special,” says Patrick. “She is probably the greatest player of all-time. She thinks differentl­y. She thinks like a champion. This puts an incredible pressure on her. She expects the best out of herself every day. She refuses to be average. She never looks back. The second after she achieves something, she has another goal in mind.

“When Serena thinks like Serena she is almost unbeatable. But back then Serena wasn’t thinking like Serena. She was suffering from low confidence.

“Early in our relationsh­ip we were sitting in the restaurant at Wimbledon and she said: ‘Whatever happens at the next match I will be number three in the world’.

“And I said, ‘And? Are you joking? Are you happy to be number three? You? Sorry, but I don’t care. This is not even good news. Number one, nothing else.’

“That’s not her. She doesn’t think like this but at that time she was. That evening she texted me and said, ‘Sorry for what I said. That is completely ridiculous. Number three is horrible, two is horrible, too.’ ”

To fans now, the thought of Serena doubting herself seems laughable. But she had gone through two surgeries for ruptured ankle ligaments and suffered a pulmonary embolism. She was not in a great place, which makes Patrick’s success in turning her round all the more surprising, something he puts down to their close relationsh­ip.

“We understand each other. We don’t need to talk. I know exactly what she is thinking even if I am not

talking to her. This connection that we have created can be very useful.

“Last year at Wimbledon she was in trouble at a match and it started to rain. I spoke to her for just 30 seconds. She was down 5-4 and she won 7-6. Her game changed because I know her so well.

“There is zero reason to lose a match. If you do everything well, 90 per cent of the time you win the match. If you don’t win the match it is because you didn’t do something that you could have done. And every time I blame myself. I don’t tell them that but I do. It is my responsibi­lity.”

PATRICK was delighted when the 35-year-old announced that she would not be competing this summer because she and partner, tech entreprene­ur Alexis Ohanian, are expecting their first child. Last week Serena revealed an extraordin­ary Vanity Fair front cover, in which she poses goddess-like, holding her baby bump. When asked if he has seen it Patrick breaks into a huge smile.

“When people are happy they look good,” he says. “She is incredibly happy. Becoming a mother is something she has wanted for a number of years. It was so important to her to have a family.

“She is happy but frustrated at the same time. She will be watching TV and watching others winning. She has mixed feelings, but she is happy for sure.” Will she be back on Centre Court? “I think so,” he says. “She is still playing every day so there is no doubt in my mind that she will come back.

“We will see once she has the baby in her arms. Because I know how special it is for a woman to have a baby and she doesn’t know yet.”

Despite her status as one of the best players in history, Serena still finds herself the subject of uninvited attacks based on her sex or race.

In April, former champion Ilie Nastase, 70, commented on the colour of her unborn child, while just last week she was forced to defend herself after John McEnroe, 58, claimed that if she were male she would be ranked 700th in the world.

McEnroe said he regretted his comment after Serena wrote on Twitter: “Dear John, I adore and respect you but please, please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based. Respect

‘We understand each other, there is no need to talk. I know what she is thinking’

me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby. Good day, sir.”

Although he feels protective, Patrick believes Serena can stand up for herself. “Generally, people who criticise women’s tennis do it because they don’t like women’s tennis.

“John should not have said that, obviously. I am sure he regrets it. Now it’s too late. I don’t think it makes sense to compare men and women’s tennis. We know men run faster than women and are stronger. Does that make women’s tennis uninterest­ing? No.”

Aside from occasional snipers, Serena has received worldwide acclaim for her prowess on the court, but even she admits that she would not be where she is without her coach.

Despite this, Patrick was reluctant to take a starring role in his new book, but his editor believed people would be interested in both his life and his technique, especially tomorrow’s Serenas and Roger Federers.

Patrick values self-confidence and ambition, but also teaches the importance of preparing a Plan B for the days when you are not at your best. He works with his players both on their physical and mental wellbeing and says that you cannot teach someone to be a champion. This will become apparent at Wimbledon this week, now that Serena isn’t competing.

“This is giving a lot of other players the opportunit­y to win. Some of them will be thinking, ‘This may be the chance of a lifetime to win Wimbledon’. Then the pressure they have is much bigger than usual. How will they deal with that? It’s not easy.

“Wimbledon is maybe the most prestigiou­s Grand Slam. They won’t feel good about it right now. Serena doesn’t give herself permission to fail. And not many people on Earth can handle that every day.”

The Coach by Patrick Mouratoglo­u (Wymer Publishing, £14.99). To order visit expressboo­kshop.co.uk or call 01872 562310. P&P free in the UK.

Wimbledon runs from tomorrow until July 16 with coverage on BBC One, Two and Radio Five Live.

 ??  ?? ANOTHER TRIUMPH: Serena holds the ladies’ singles trophy at last year’s Wimbledon after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber
ANOTHER TRIUMPH: Serena holds the ladies’ singles trophy at last year’s Wimbledon after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber
 ?? Pictures: SHAUN BOTTERILL/Getty; ADAM DAVY/PA ?? TRIPLE IN SIGHT: Murray at Wimbledon for a practice session yesterday, relaxing, below, and focusing on winning the tournament
Pictures: SHAUN BOTTERILL/Getty; ADAM DAVY/PA TRIPLE IN SIGHT: Murray at Wimbledon for a practice session yesterday, relaxing, below, and focusing on winning the tournament
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 ?? Pictures: MARK KEHOE; GETTY; ANDREW TOTH/FilmMagic ?? INVALUABLE MENTOR: Supervisin­g training in Australia, getting a pep talk on the way to the court and at a film premiere in New York last year
Pictures: MARK KEHOE; GETTY; ANDREW TOTH/FilmMagic INVALUABLE MENTOR: Supervisin­g training in Australia, getting a pep talk on the way to the court and at a film premiere in New York last year
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