Patrick Mouratoglou explains Serena’s dominance over Sharapova

Serena Williams has been absolutely dominant against Maria Sharapova over the past decade, and Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou has an explanation for why.

Mouratoglou was interviewed by ESPN’s Pam Shriver prior to a quarterfinals match between Sharapova and Williams at the Australian Open. His explanation for why Serena is so successful against Maria (and others) has to do with the way she responds to stress.

“Most of the champions have a feeling for the big matches. There is this extra stress where they find a way to have the extra stress useful for them. They use this stress to make them play better. Where others players would be taken by the stress, they want to play their best,” Mouratoglou said.

Maybe his comment also has to do with the concept of nerves and the idea that Williams just responds better to pressure than most. That certainly seems to be the case as Williams rarely chokes.

Serena leads Maria 18-2 head-to-head and has not lost to her since 2005.