Top coach argues why Rafael Nadal’s forehand is the best in history over Roger Federer

Ewan West
Rafael Nadal plays a shot
Rafael Nadal hits a forehand

Patrick Mouratoglou has broken down why he thinks Rafael Nadal has the best forehand of all time, while claiming Roger Federer does not make the top two. 

The prominent coach, who currently works with Holger Rune, declared Nadal’s forehand is “unique in tennis history” and argued it is the greatest ever for a range of reasons.

Mouratoglou, who coaches at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France, has worked with several current and retired tennis stars, including Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Nadal’s devastating left-handed forehand, which is renowned for its heavy topspin and power, is the Spaniard’s best shot and has been a huge factor in the success he has had in his remarkable career.

The shot has been particularly instrumental to him becoming the ‘King of Clay’ and winning a staggering record of 14 French Open titles given how well it is suited to the surface.

Federer’s forehand is also widely considered to be one of the best in the sport’s history and has been lauded by many for its versatility and being near perfect technically.

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In a series of videos posted on his Instagram account, Mouratoglou ranked his five best forehands ever and analysed each one, with Nadal being placed above Fernando Gonzales, Federer, Pete Sampras and Juan Martin Del Potro.

“Rafael Nadal’s forehand is unique in tennis history. When playing cross with his forehand, the quality of his topspin and the zones he finds always fully open the court for his down the line forehand,” Mouratoglou said.

“When running to his forehand, he is always able to find a short cross-court angle that gives him the opportunity to come back to offense on the next shot.

“When turning around his backhand to hit a forehand, you already know that you are going to run a lot and and you’re going to end up losing the point.

“Rafa is comfortable to hit his forehand on a low slice backhand as much as hitting winners when the ball is over his shoulder. I consider until this day that he has the best forehand of all time.”

On Federer’s forehand, the 53-year-old coach gave the following assessment: “Roger Federer’s best shot was his forehand and he was very unique because he was the first one to have his head turn to the right side while hitting it and he was keeping it in that position after the ball was leaving his racket, like golfers.

“What was standing out the most with Roger’s forehand was his ability to take time away from his opponent with that shot and hurt them all the time, scoring an incredible number of winners, many of them with the second shot after the serve.

“It might sound weird, but Federer’s forehand is not even in the two best of all time in my opinion. He had so much more than this unbelievable forehand in his game.”

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