Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have challenged each other five times this season at tour-level events, with the Spaniard dominating their head-to-head in 2025.
Each of their meetings this year have come in finals, with three being played in the championship match of a Grand Slam.
Alcaraz beat Sinner in Rome during May and emerged victorious over the Italian at Roland Garros, the Cincinnati Open, and the US Open.
Sinner‘s sole triumph against the now-world number one was clinched at Wimbledon, where he became the first from his country to win a singles title at the All England Club.
While the rivalry may have appeared somewhat one-sided in 2025, the levels of the two stars are certainly similar, and Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, says there are parts of the game Sinner excels in more than Alcaraz, despite recent results.
Patrick Mouratoglou creates the perfect tennis player
Creating the ‘perfect player’ in a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “I would take the serve of Alcaraz because I think, for his height, his technique is amazing. That’s why he serves so well.
“I like his use of the angle. He’s using the angles extremely well. He can kick out wide. He does it incredibly well. He can slice out wide incredibly well, and he can serve on the T. I would take his serve.
“I would take the movement of Carlos on the sides, but when it comes to moving forward, I would take the movement of Jannik.
“He is so good at moving up to the ball every time, taking any centimetre that the other one loses, playing a bit shorter. He takes it straight away. This movement here, back and forth, I think Jannik is the best in the world.
“I would definitely take Jannik’s ability to not miss at a very high pace. This is incredible.
“I would take the variety of Carlos. He is probably the most unpredictable player. I’ll also take the forehand of Alcaraz with his power, and probably the backhand of Sinner, and I would also take the dropshot and the net game of Carlos.
“When it comes to the mental side, I would take both for two different reasons. I’ll take the fire of Carlos, and I will take the focus of Jannik, which is unbelievable.
“The guy is focused on every single point of every single match. Full focus. Unbelievable. I’m thinking about the ideal player, the perfect player, and all I take are those two guys. Isn’t that crazy?”
Patrick Mouratoglou explains what Jannik Sinner does ‘really well’
The Frenchman continued: “If I had to create a robot to play tennis, the first thing I would teach the robot is to spin the ball and not miss.
“I would tell him to play either deep or with angle to open up the court, and I would teach him to take the ball early.
“Whenever the opponent plays a little bit shorter, the robot would have to move forward and take the ball.
“It would take the ball always at the same height, and on the way up, it would put crazy pressure on the opponent.
“In a way, it’s a little bit like what Sinner is doing, and he does it really well. He plays angle, he plays deep, and he always plays on top of the ball. He moves forward and takes the ball early. This is what I would teach.
“Of course, we can teach a lot of other things. But I think when you have these basics already, you already play a really high level.”
Sinner’s incredible level has seen him claim four ATP titles this year, and tally a record of nearly 50 wins.
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