Mouratoglou: “Maybe more difficult to beat Sinner for Djokovic than Alcaraz”

December 14, 2024

Naomi Osaka’s coach believes Jannik Sinner possesses the same abilities as Novak Djokovic, making it difficult for Serbian to find a way through

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, Davis Cup 2023

Zuma / Panoramic

Naomi Osaka’s coach and UTS founder Patrick Mouratoglou has given his analysis of the challenges Novak Djokovic will face playing against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Both Sinner and Alcaraz have proven tough nuts to crack for Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion. The Serbian, however, has a win over the Spaniard in the last 12 months but not against the Italian. He defeated Alcaraz in the Paris Olympics final after a straightforward defeat in the Wimbledon title clash.

Against Sinner, on the other hand, the 37-year-old has lost a semi-final at the Australian Open and a final in Shanghai.

In the latest episode of ‘Eye of the Coach‘, a Tennis Majors exclusive, Mouratoglou stated that Djokovic may find it harder to beat the Sinner than Alcaraz in 2025 as well, arguing the world No 1 possesses a skillset similar to that of the Serbian:

“The challenge is clearly huge because the level that Alcaraz and Sinner are playing at the moment is really impressive. Maybe even more difficult to beat Sinner for Novak than Alcaraz because Sinner doesn’t miss. Sinner has the same capacities as Novak, covering the court crazily well, not missing, and taking the balls earlier than Novak.

“So for Novak, he will have to go back to incredible shape to dominate Sinner. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy to beat Alcaraz—you have to match his power, his ability to change the rhythm, change the pace, the speed, the spin, the directions, and also bring an incredible physical challenge.”