Patrick Mouratoglou explains why Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry should never be compared to Federer vs Nadal

Tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou is of the opinion that the Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner rivalry, one of the most heated ones in modern tennis, should not be seen as the same as the Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal rivalry. In fact, the Frenchman is of the opinion that what Alcaraz and Sinner are doing is something tennis has never seen before.

To say Alcaraz and Sinner have dominated men's tennis in the last couple of years would be an understatement. The pair have swept all eight Majors in the last two years, winning four each. The Spaniard has six to his name, while the Italian has now won four. The duo have also been ranked at the top of the ATP rankings in 2024 and 2025, not allowing anyone else to take the No. 1 spot but themselves.

Writing on LinkedIn in a recent post, Mouratoglou reminisced about the glory days of Federer and Nadal, before they became the 'Big-3' together with Novak Djokovic. Despite Federer solidly being considered the World No. 1 at the time, he had a strange losing record against Nadal, something that baffled fans and pundits alike.

"Before the Big Three, tennis had a Big Two: Roger and Rafa. Back then, something unusual was happening: Roger was the best player in the world, beating everyone, dominating the tour, but Rafa was the best between the two. Because of the matchup, because of the patterns, because Roger didn’t have the solutions at that time. It was a paradox, and a fascinating one," he wrote.

Mouratoglou drew parallels from them to Alcaraz and Sinner, pointing out how fans sometimes thought Sinner was the 'real No. 1' over Alcaraz, but somehow struggles against him. Personally, however, he did not 'buy' the opinion.

"Sinner consistently overplays every other opponent on the Tour and has nearly tied Alcaraz in the ATP rankings despite missing three months of play. He is often pictured as the 'real' No. 1, which leads to this perception, even more after his dominance at the ATP Finals : Sinner is better than anyone else, but Alcaraz is the best of the two. Sorry, but I don’t buy it," he wrote.

Mouratoglou is of the opinion that Alcaraz and Sinner's matches are closer than the casual observer believed at the end of the day, inisisting that neither player has completely figured out the other. The Frenchman, therefore, asserted that it is not the same as the Federer vs Nadal rivalry, but rather something unique in the world of men's tennis.

"Even though Carlos leads their head-to-head, their matches are extremely close. The Roland-Garros final was decided by tiny details, nothing suggested that one player didn’t have the answers for the other. Technically, tactically, mentally, they are equals," he said. "What truly separates them is how they dominate everyone else. Jannik does it with focus, margin, and no fluctuations. Against most players, there’s simply nothing they can do. So no, this is not Federer–Nadal. It’s something new. Something unique," he added.

Nadal, in fact, won six of his first seven matches against Federer, and ended with a 24-16 lead over the Swiss in their head-to-head. For comparison, Alcaraz is now 10-6 against Sinner.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner met six times in 2025 alone

Nitto ATP Finals 2025 - Day 8 - Source: Getty

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner met each other six times in 2025, for the last time at the ATP Finals in the final. There, Sinner won, defending his title in Turin. Overall, Alcaraz had the most wins, with four to his name.

In Grand Slams, Alcaraz and Sinner faced each other three times this year, all in finals. While the former won at the French Open and the US Open, the latter took the win at Wimbledon.

Edited by Shyam Kamal