Naomi Osaka’s coach completely disagrees with John McEnroe’s controversial claim about Rafael Nadal 

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John McEnroe made a controversial claim about Rafael Nadal at the French Open earlier this month.

Appearing on TNT Sports as a pundit, McEnroe did what he does better than anyone else, and sent the tennis world into a frenzy with his controversial comments.

Seven-time Grand Slam winner McEnroe claimed Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz may be favored to beat Nadal ‘at his best’ on clay.

Several big names disagreed with McEnroe, including Andy Murray, who doesn’t believe Alcaraz and Sinner are quite at Nadal’s level yet.

Weighing in with his thoughts, one top WTA coach has now explained why he also disagrees with McEnroe’s claim.

Patrick Mouratoglou doesn’t think Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz would be favored against Rafael Nadal

Reacting to McEnroe’s comments on Instagram, Naomi Osaka’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou gave his verdict.

“I don’t think that [Carlos] Alcaraz or [Jannik] Sinner would be favorites against [Rafael] Nadal in a Roland Garros final,” said Mouratoglou.

“Because Nadal has a game that is so different from everybody else, so adapted to clay. 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, any of the two finalists would beat him.”

Nadal is the most successful player in the history of the French Open, winning 14 titles, eight more than his closest challenger.

Having dominated on the clay as much as he did, it’s hard to believe anyone past or present could ever be considered ‘favorite’ to beat Nadal on the red dirt.

The Spaniard’s performances against Alcaraz and Sinner strengthen his case further, as he had the better of the youngsters when they battled it out during Nadal’s final years on tour.

How did Rafael Nadal perform against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on clay?

Nadal played five matches against the world’s top two players on clay during his career, winning four and losing one.

He first met Sinner at Roland Garros five years ago, as the pair faced off for a place in the semi-finals.

After the Italian pushed Nadal close in the first set, his resistance began to falter, losing in straight sets, 6-7, 4-6, 1-6.

One year later, Nadal took on his fellow Spaniard for the first time, dropping just three games as he produced a dominant display in the second round of the Madrid Open.

Two more meetings with Sinner followed, in Rome and at Roland Garros in 2021, as Nadal maintained his flawless record against the now three-time Major champion, winning both matches without dropping a set.

It was only in his fifth match against one of the sport’s brightest young stars that Nadal tasted defeat, as he returned to take on Alcaraz at the Madrid Open in 2022.

After three thrilling sets, Alcaraz hit a sensational forehand to win the match 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

Nadal never played another match against Alcaraz or Sinner on clay, retiring in 2024 with a 4-1 record.

There is, of course, a valid argument to be made that Alcaraz and Sinner are different players now than they were two or three years ago, but in the same breath you could say Nadal was far from his ‘prime’ in the 2020s.

We’ll never know how the Spaniard or Italian would perform against Nadal at his best, but to say they would be ‘favorites’ might be a step too far.

On grass, however, that may well have been a different story, as it seems likely that Alcaraz and Sinner will surpass the 39-year-old’s career achievements on the surface.

Alcaraz will have a chance to go one better than Nadal and win his third Wimbledon title later this summer when the tournament begins on Monday, June 30.