"Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal were always cramping";"Shut up & stop comparing": Fans slam Patrick Mouratoglou's criticism of Carlos Alcaraz's schedule

Patrick Mouratoglou recently expressed his concerns over Carlos Alcaraz's scheduling. According to the French coach, Alcaraz's emotional and physical fatigue stem from the him playing much too often. Mouratoglou also compared the World No. 3's scheduling to that of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

However, these comparisons drew criticism from fans, with many lambasting the coach, who previously worked with Serena Williams and Simona Halep, among others.

Alcaraz's recent fortunes have been mixed to say the least. While his latest outings for Spain in the Davis Cup group stage resulted in wins, the US Open Series before that was a different story altogether. The World No. 3 crashed out of both the Cincinnati Open and the US Open after suffering shocking second-round losses.

In the aftermath of his straight-set defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at Flushing Meadows, Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he was not at his mental and physical best, especially after an absorbing and, in the end, overwhelming experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Spaniard made his debut at the Games this year, featuring in both singles and doubles. For doubles, Carlos Alcaraz paired up with legendary compatriot Rafael Nadal. The duo reached the quarterfinals before losing to the USA's Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, but it was in singles that the World No. 3's gold medal aspirations were put to the sword at the last hurdle by a resurgent and rejuvenated Novak Djokovic.

Carlos Alcaraz couldn't contain his tears after the match; a clear reflection of the toll that the loss had taken. In light of all these recent twists and turns that have suddenly affected the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion's season, Patrick Mouratoglou spoke up about the Spaniard's scheduling.

"I wouldn’t think he’d lose in 3 sets like this [US Open]. But for me it’s a half a surprise. Two grand slams in a row, now he can rest. No no no. The Olympic Games now, plus all the other tournaments. But they meant so much to him. He put everything, mentally, emotionally, of course, physically and tennis-wise, on the table to win them, because it's got counted so much. And when it counts so much for you, emotionally, it's draining. He was exhausted, mentally exhausted," Mouratoglou said.

The iconic coach also went on to say that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic rarely experienced cramps but Alcaraz has already cramped up during matches on multiple occasions, despite still only being 21.

"He's very, very emotional. We've seen him cramp many times already. If you look at Roger, Rafa, and Novak, have you seen them cramp once in a match? All their careers? He cramped many times already, only at 20. He's an emotional player," Mouratoglou added.

Several fans on X (formerly Twitter) though, weren't at all convinced by what Mouratoglou had to say, especially about the Big Three rarely experiencing cramps.

"Novak and Nadal were always cramping lol," one wrote.

"Yes they all had cramped in the past, and they learned from the experiences. At 21, Carlos Alcaraz is still honing his skills, picking up experiences, & learning to listen to his body. Patrick needs to learn when to shut up & stop comparing them!" commented another.

"What's this drivel Mouratoglou is spouting? Firstly, Federer had no Slams at Alcaraz's age & Djokovic had a grand total of one. Carlos Alcaraz has 4. Not at all a like for like comparison. Secondly, yes Nole did cramp and not finish matches. Ffs!" yet another fan chimed in.

"Who gives an eff about what Patrick says? Carlos Alcaraz has a team with him that knew this already. He is 21. Achieved so much already. He can retire if he wants. Let the kid experience & figure it out. It's part of the learning process," wrote one more fan.

However, there were some who did agree to some extent with Mouratoglou's assessment of Carlos Alcaraz's recent downturn in results at big events.

"The @atptour and @WTA tours need to realise that their relentless pursuit of TV revenue means we have too many low quality tournaments. What the real fans want is less but higher quality tennis to watch. The @usopen is now a joke because everyone is burned out and/or injured," stated one fan.

"Yeah but that's in big part more on ATP and their mandatory tournament scheduling than on Carlos Alcaraz, both ATP and WTA players have been complaining about the amount of mandatory tournaments and how much it adds to the fatigue," another added.

"The man ain't wrong. Alcaraz's schedule is crazy busy. He's my fave player of the new gen, but I suspect Sinner may end up with more Slams if only because he and his team schedule better. Surprised JCF (Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Alcaraz's coach) doesn't see it," weighed in yet another fan.

Alcaraz's upcoming participation at multiple exhibition events has also raised eyebrows as he has to prepare for important ATP Masters 1000 tournaments and the Nitto ATP Finals as well.

Carlos Alcaraz to play Laver Cup 2024 in Berlin and three exhibition events across Saudi Arabia and the United States

Carlos Alcaraz (Source: Getty)

Fresh off his victories at the Davis Cup group stage, Carlos Alcaraz now has the prestigious Rolex Paris Masters, the Rolex Shanghai Masters and the year-end Nitto ATP Finals to prepare for, among other tournaments. He also has the Davis Cup quarterfinals to look forward to. However, he has been roped in for the 2024 Laver Cup and three exhibition events as well.

While the Laver Cup is an ATP Tour-sanctioned event, results at the team tennis tournament don't affect players' ranking points. Carlos Alcaraz is also set to feature at the Six Kings Slam (Saudi Arabia), The Garden Cup (New York) and an event organized by the Charlotte Tennis Association, before the conclusion of this season. All of them will be exhibitions.

The Spaniard now has 41 out of 50 wins so far in the 2024 season.