"Alcaraz is the Rafa of the new generation of players, but could he potentially surpass him?"- Patrick Mouratoglou compares Carlos Alcaraz to Rafael Nadal

Carlos Alcaraz has frequently been compared with Rafael Nadal ever since he first demonstrated his mettle, with the chatter increasing exponentially over this season. Both are Spaniards and their athleticism is a big part of their gameplay. Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has now joined a long list of people to draw parallels between the two players.

Mouratoglou, who is currently Simona Halep's coach, uses his social media to frequently share his thoughts and analyze various players.

The Frenchman took to Instagram on Thursday to compare Alcaraz with 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal.

"Rafael Nadal has some of the best return stats to tour. He has won more return games than anyone else, and holds the highest percentage at 33.5%," Mouratoglou said, adding, "But one player is topping Rafa on return stats this season, Carlos Alcaraz.

"Did you know that the Spaniard wins 51.8% of his return games when he wins the first point of the game? To put this in perspective, the tour's average on this data is 38.4%. Alcaraz also leads in return games won after the first two points with 77.8%, which is 5% more than Rafa. The tour average is 59.4%," Mouratoglou stated.

Carlos Alcaraz is proving himself worthy of the claims that he is Rafael Nadal's successor, though it is still too early to declare anything. He has five ATP singles titles under his belt, four of which came in 2022 - including two Masters 100 titles. He has also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open this year, where he lost to Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz recently finished as the runner-up in Hamburg, which saw him become the youngest player since Rafael Nadal to enter the top-5 of the ATP rankings.

Expanding on Alcaraz's game, Mouratoglou said that the teenager always finds a way to meet the ball despite being well behind the baseline, similar to the way the 36-year-old Nadal operates.

"Same thing from 30-30, Alcaraz manages to break 38.5% of the time, again beating Rafa's percentage," said Mouratoglou, adding, "On the return, he is positioned relatively far back but moves forward as much as he can to meet the ball. His preparation is short but has a full follow through."

The Frenchman concluded his analysis by stating that the Spanish teenager is one of the most consistent performers on the tour right now.

"Once in the rally, Alcaraz does a great job at neutralizing the point and gradually builds up to take control, Mouratoglou said. "A lot of people say that Alcaraz is the Rafa of the new generation of the players. But could he potentially surpass him? I think that's one of the most and solid players on tour right now, and that we will see him inside the top 5 very soon," he added.

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"I agree 100% with this statement!"- Patrick Mouratoglou on Rafael Nadal's opinion on talent

Day Eleven: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

According to Patrick Mouratoglou, Rafael Nadal's notion of talent is one with which he agrees.

When asked in an interview with Talento a Bordo about what he thinks of a person's talent, the 22-time Grand Slam champion provided the following assessment:

“Talent is something that I think people are a bit confused about. For me, it’s not about playing well or hitting the ball really hard. Some have the talent to hit hard, some to not to miss any ball, others to make a great slice, still others to move very well. But in tennis, as in all sports, the ultimate goal is to win. So for me the summary is clear, whoever wins is the one with the most talent.”

In light of this, Mouratoglou expressed his thoughts on the Spaniard's statement on his Instagram story and stated that he agreed with Nadal entirely.

"I agree 100% with this statement! Real talent is the ability to reach one's goal," Mouratoglou wrote.

Patrick Mouratoglou's Instagram story