Patrick Mouratoglou issues verdict on whether Alcaraz or Sinner would beat Nadal at his peak
Leading coach Patrick Mouratoglou has opposed a controversial view expressed by tennis icon John McEnroe about the level of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz overcame Sinner in an epic five-set championship match at the 2025 French Open earlier this month to secure his fifth Grand Slam crown.
The remarkable battle, which lasted five hours and 29 minutes, has been lauded by many observers as one of the greatest matches in the history of the sport.
Speaking on TNT Sports in Paris, McEnroe made a bold statement about Alcaraz and Sinner’s chances of beating 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in his prime.
“I’m saying Sinner and Alcaraz against Rafael Nadal on clay — you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favourite to beat Nadal, at his best,” the former world No 1 said.
McEnroe added that he does not expect either Alcaraz or Sinner to win as many majors as Nadal, Novak Djokovic, or Roger Federer, but he declared that the duo’s level is the best he has ever seen.
“Do I think they’re gonna reach 20, 24 [Grand Slam titles] — either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard,” the seven-time major singles champion continued.
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“But these two guys right now, it’s like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan.
“The tennis level right now is higher than I’ve ever seen.”
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Mouratoglou reacted to McEnroe’s take and explained why he disagrees with the American.
“I don’t think that Alcaraz or Sinner would be favourites against Nadal in a Roland Garros final because Nadal has a game that is so different to everybody else, so adapted to clay,” said the Frenchman.
“I don’t know how they would deal with that, so that’s why I don’t think we can say that. There’s no way we can know.
“And considering that this guy won 14 Roland Garros [titles], it’s difficult to think that the year after [he retired], any of the two finalists would beat him.”
Mouratoglou currently coaches four-time major winner Naomi Osaka, while he has previously worked with tennis icon Serena Williams, as well as ATP stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune.
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