"Players fear Jannik Sinner more than they fear Carlos Alcaraz" - Serena Williams' ex-coach makes bold claim with Rafael Nadal analogy

Tennis, on the surface, looks like a simple sport, but it’s anything but simple, as a lot of things matter—including matchups, which the examples of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz illustrate very well according to Patrick Mouratoglou.

Sinner and Alcaraz are some of the best players we have today, and the way they play against each other and other players highlights something really important in tennis. It shows how crucial the mental part of the sport is and how matchups can determine the outcome of a match.

Sinner has been described as a machine in recent times because he’s so relentless against some of the best players out there. He’s like a computer—just goes out and does his thing and generally wins. He’s very good at not losing matches he shouldn’t lose.

The same can’t be said for Carlos Alcaraz, who has lost matches against players he shouldn’t have lost. The ex-coach of Serena Williams, Patrick Mouratoglou, broke it down in an interview, admitting that the only player who gives Sinner massive problems is Carlos Alcaraz.

"Alcaraz is the only player who can beat Sinner, which is not the case for Alcaraz. A LOT of players have beaten Alcaraz, but he’s 4-0 against Sinner. I think Sinner is not vulnerable against almost anyone except for Alcaraz because of the feeling the players have against him. They feel there is nothing they can use."

Alcaraz can at times be aloof and complicate matches more than needed, which almost never happens with Sinner, which creates a much different match dynamic.

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Sinner is more feared than Alcaraz

2025 French Open - Day Nine - Source: Getty

Mouratoglou further explained how Sinner’s relentless nature and his computer-like qualities make him a more feared player than Alcaraz. He generally won’t lose to players he shouldn’t lose to, unlike Alcaraz, who does that at times—and that’s what makes players believe they can do it.

"Players fear Sinner more than they fear Alcaraz because they’ve seen Alcaraz sometimes mentally not there. When you kind of ‘accept to give up’ some matches to players that you shouldn’t lose to, it gives hope to the others. Sinner—nobody beats him but Alcaraz, and it was the same thing with Rafa at Roland Garros."

As noted by Patrick Mouratoglou, the same was true for Rafael Nadal. He was so relentless at Roland Garros that nobody truly believed they could beat him. Even legends like Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer would show signs of weakness before the match had started because the computer-like quality struck fear into every player.

Sinner has built a similar reputation, while Alcaraz hasn’t, per Mouratoglou—despite arguably being the better player, as highlighted by their head-to-head matchups.