Serena Williams' coach drags Federer into major gripe with tennis officials

Patrick Mouratoglou has expressed his desire for tennis to become ‘more controversial’, saying players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are too boring.

In a lengthy interview with The Metro recently, Serena Williams’ coach complained that tennis had become ‘flat’, listing a number of changes he’d like to see to jazz the sport up.

Mouratoglou said tennis needs more players like Nick Kyrgios who aren’t afraid to express themselves, stating his belief that the kind of controversy the Aussie generates is actually good for the game.

“You will have people who like or dislike players and then be excited by the show,” he said.

“If we don’t know who is who because everyone is behaving the same then it’s boring.”

‘Don’t want everything to be flat’

Mouratoglou was at the centre of one of the biggest stories of 2018 when he was caught coaching Serena during the infamous US Open final.

The Frenchman reiterated his belief that mid-match coaching should be allowed, while calling on officials to do away with a number of other rules.

“I think Hawk-Eye is a mistake, too. It shouldn’t be ok. Again, no controversy,” he said.

“Before, McEnroe was crazy. It was great. We had fun. Now, ‘oh the ball is out, okay’. Flat.

“Technology is great, it’s fantastic. But come on, we don’t want everything to be flat.

“We want to argue because the ball was in and we’re so disappointed because my player – I mean as a fan – lost because of this awful chair umpire and then you have something to talk about with your friends and then there is controversy. People watch.”

‘Difficult to criticise them’

Mouratoglou then dragged Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal into his argument about how tennis had become boring, pointing to the fact the tennis legends seem to be immune from criticism.

“If you criticise Federer or Nadal… it’s impossible to say something,” he said.

“It’s difficult to criticise them, they’re perfect. Nobody is perfect.

“I’m just saying it’s exciting to have a real world to witness and take part of as a fan be excited by some players, dislike others and feel emotions when you’re watching a show.”