'I thought I was a terrible coach': Patrick Mouratoglou recalls painful lesson with Baghdatis

Patrick Mouratoglou has coached some of the greatest names in tennis, but even he admits his journey began with doubts. Long before working with Serena Williams or Stefanos Tsitsipas, he found himself at a Challenger event in Bratislava with a young Marcos Baghdatis — and questioning whether he was cut out for the job.

Baghdatis, then ranked around No. 300, had battled through qualifying to reach the final, where he faced Dominik Hrbatý, a Top 15 player at the time. On paper, the contest looked one-sided. Hrbatý’s weapons and experience seemed far superior. Mouratoglou recalls sitting courtside and thinking his player had no chance. “Erbati has a better forehand, better backhand, better serve, moves better. And I remember I thought, it’s going to be tough to win this one,” he said.

His fears grew quickly as Baghdatis fell behind 4-1. The French coach admits he all but wrote off the match at that point. “And Marcos won. And if you ask me how, I have no idea, but he found a way,” Mouratoglou reflected. Instead of crumbling, the teenager turned the match around, stunning both the crowd and his coach.

For Mouratoglou, the lesson was personal. “After that match, I thought I was a terrible coach because I didn’t believe in my player. I learned something big this day,” he confessed. In his mind, a coach’s role was not only to design strategies but to embody belief — even when the situation looks hopeless.

A Lesson in Belief

The experience shaped his philosophy. Baghdatis had every reason to doubt, yet his mindset carried him through. “Thankfully, he didn’t feel it. Otherwise, he would probably have lost. But he believed,” Mouratoglou explained. “The guy plays better for the moment, I’ll find a way. And he found a way. And that’s really special.”

That Challenger match in Bratislava became a turning point in Mouratoglou’s career. It showed him that talent and ranking matter less than conviction under pressure. More importantly, it taught him that even the coach’s doubts can’t outweigh a player’s belief. For Baghdatis, it was the start of a career that would lead to a Grand Slam final. For Mouratoglou, it was the beginning of a coaching philosophy that has since helped shape champions.