Patrick Mouratoglou Explains Why Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz Rivalry is Different From Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal One

Carlos Alcaraz lost two finals at the hands of Jannik Sinner this year, while the Spaniard won their four clashes.

Patrick Mouratoglou Explains Why Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz Rivalry is Different From Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal One

Jannik Sinner, Patrick Mouratoglou, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Swiss Tennis, TNT Sports)

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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have ensured that tennis is in good hands, all thanks to their sheer dominance after the Big 3 era. Alcaraz and Sinner’s rivalry often gets compared to that of the Roger Federer–Rafael Nadal one, but Serena Williams‘ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou finds the pair a lot more different from the two retired tennis greats.

Mouratoglou recalled the Fedal era, calling Nadal the best between the two, saying Federer at that time did not have a solution to challenge the Spaniard. They met for the first time at the 2002 Miami Open, with the result ending in Nadal’s favor.

In their next six encounters, the Swiss maestro won just one match. In their overall head-to-head matchups, Nadal held a 24-16 lead. Alcaraz, similarly to Nadal, holds a 10-6 lead in the head-to-head matchups against Sinner, but Mouratoglou explained why the win-loss record must not be used to define the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry.

Even though Carlos leads their head-to-head, their matches are extremely close. The Roland-Garros final was decided by tiny details, nothing suggested that one player didn’t have the answers for the other. Technically, tactically, mentally, they are equals. What truly separates them is how they dominate everyone else.

Patrick Mouratoglou wrote on LinkedIn

The 24-year-old won just two times out of their last nine meetings. This year, the four-time Grand Slam champion defeated him in the Wimbledon final and the title clash of the ATP Finals.

Jannik does it with focus, margin, and no fluctuations. Against most players, there’s simply nothing they can do. Carlos does it differently, with creativity, risk, explosive winners, and sometimes more ups and downs. But when he raises his level, no one can live with him. So no, this is not Federer–Nadal. It’s something new. Something unique. And honestly… we are incredibly lucky to witness it from the beginning.

Patrick Mouratoglou added

Their rivalry started in 2021 when they met at the Paris Masters. But they did not face each other in a Grand Slam final until this year’s French Open, where the 22-year-old came from two sets down and saved three match points to defend his title.

Carlos Alcaraz sends heartfelt message to Spain after Davis Cup defeat

Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t play the Davis Cup because of a hamstring injury he suffered during the ATP Finals clash with Sinner. Despite his absence, Spain reached the final, only to suffer a 2-0 defeat at the hands of home team Italy, who completed the historic three-peat. Alcaraz took to Instagram story to share a heartfelt message to uplift their spirits.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

We landed on our feet. We fell together. And we’ll get back up together. We’ll keep dreaming. We’ll be back.

Carlos Alcaraz wrote

Check out his post here:

Carlos Alcaraz's Instagram story
Carlos Alcaraz’s Instagram story

Alcaraz ended the season with eight titles from 11 finals, the most on the men’s tour this year. Two of his titles were the French Open and the US Open.

Italy was without its star players, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti. The 24-year-old wanted an extra week off and skipped the Davis Cup Finals. He is now vacationing in the Maldives, just like several other players. Sinner also found himself on the same plane as Alexander Zverev while heading to the island nation.

Sinner ended the season with six titles from 10 finals. He lost the year-end No.1 title to Alcaraz. The last title that Spaniard took home this year was the Japan Open by defeating Taylor Fritz. No player is closer to Alcaraz and Sinner’s ranking points as they have 12,050 and 11,500, respectively, while World No.3 Zverev has 5,160.

Also read: Maria Sharapova Makes Feelings Known About On-court Coaching by Citing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s Example