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 Williams who failed to reach the quarter-finals in the first
three majors of 2014, has reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open,
closing in on an 18th grand slam singles crown that would tie her
with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for fourth place on the
all-time list.
The French coach, who has also been linked romantically to world
number one Williams, said hard work and some soul searching helped
the 32-year-old American.
"The first six months of the season were really tough. She kind of
lost her way, in a way," Mouratoglou told Reuters. "This is tennis.
You cannot perform all the time. You have ups and downs."
Williams failed in the fourth round at the Australian Open, was
ousted in the second round of the French and in the third round at
Wimbledon.
The American has regained momentum since turning her focus on the
hard court season.
"I think she reacted really well. She worked even harder," the
Frenchman said. "She entered in a smaller tournament when she was
not playing well and she fought, and in a way got her confidence
back by winning Stanford.
"And she’s playing better and better. I think she’s back to her
level."
Williams has reached the last four at Flushing Meadows without
losing a set.
"She did her job, she was focused, she worked hard, she fought hard.
Now it’s time to step up the level because the matches will be
tougher and she has to play at a better level. That’s what we have
to do now," the coach said.
Mouratoglou, whose pupils included Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, a
2006 Australian Open finalist, said Williams was not alone in the
struggle to maintain a competitive edge.
"I think the line between confidence and doubt ... it is the same
for every player," he remarked. "If you look at Roger (Federer) he
had the same thing for two years, he didn’t play with the same
confidence.
"And Rafa is the same. Rafa needs to win a lot of matches to come
back to his best. We have seen Rafa first week at Roland Garros
several times playing really bad, winning by fighting but playing
really bad and being able to raise his level.
"It is the same for every player. Of course, maybe the top ones they
know the way to get their confidence back but it takes time and it
takes wins for everyone."
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Serena told reporters that she began her turnaround by looking at the big
picture of her career, all she had already achieved, and that relaxed
her.
"Serena has had a lot of pressure all her career and there is always
someone to put a bit more with another record to beat," said
Mouratoglou.
"It’s tough for all the really, really top ones like Roger or her or
maybe Rafa or Novak (Djokovic) but they know how to deal with it. They
don't always find a way because they are humans but most of the time,
they do."
Mouratoglou, who has worked with Williams for two years, was asked about
her approach to getting herself in the right place, psychologically.
"She’s right, looking at the big picture," he replied. "But I don’t
know. It’s something really personal. She does her own thing to find her
way.
"What I do as a coach, I will have her focus on what she needs to do on
the court, rather than the win or what she wants to complete.
"Every day you put one foot in front of the other one. We’re on a tennis
court, there is one match to win, and one match to win is one point to
win, and then another one."
(Editing by Ian Ransom)
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