Carlos Alcaraz's critics told to 'calm down' by Serena Williams' former coach
NewsSaturday, 25 October 2025 at 20:30
Patrick Mouratoglou is unconcerned by Carlos Alcaraz's recent defeat to Jannik Sinner at the 2025 Six Kings Slam, and thinks those panicking need to relax.
Although their rivalry is broadly considered the best in tennis right now, Alcaraz has a very dominant recent record against Sinner, winning seven of their last eight competitive matches since the start of 2024.
However, Alcaraz lost to the Italian in the 2024 and 2025 Six Kings Slam finals. The most recent of those defeats occurred last week in straight sets after an unusually underwhelming performance from Alcaraz.
Sinner being more comfortable on indoor hard courts than his younger opponent partially explains those results at the Six Kings Slam. Nonetheless, his being 2-0 against Alcaraz at exhibitions but 1-7 in their last eight ATP matches is a notable trend.
In a video on his Instagram account, Mouratoglou argued that Alcaraz's mindset means he struggles to find the same motivation at an exhibition or in the early rounds of tournaments as he does on the most significant stages.
"I saw some commentaries of people online who were worrying about Carlos because he lost two matches lately. Calm down. I think it’s the same phenomenon, when Carlos plays an exhibition, or when he’s in the second round of a Grand Slam."
"He feels he is really way above his opponent, so he allows himself to lose focus, lose the set, because he knows that, first of all, the fact that he’s one set all is gonna give him extra motivation and the flame will come back."
"And second, when there is not this flame, he doesn’t find the resources. So that explains why he’s up and down some matches. Actually, he’s working on it and at the US Open, he didn’t have that much. He’s a player who needs the internal flame to give his best. When he feels threatened, he can give his best."
Interestingly, Mouratoglou thinks Alcaraz does not play for money, and that is not enough to motivate him. Sinner secured $6,000,000 again for winning the Six Kings Slam.
"When he’s over-motivated and knows he can’t afford to lose his focus, he has the flame. When it doesn’t count that much for him, he doesn’t have the flame. When he has too much margin, he also struggles to find the flame."
"He won Tokyo because it was ATP and it counts for the ranking, so there was this excitement. Whether he wins or not, the final of the Six Kings Slam — it’s not going to change much. It’s just money. He doesn’t play for money."
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Some think that the number of exhibitions Alcaraz plays indicates that money does motivate him. The six-time Grand Slam champion will feature against Frances Tiafoe and Joao Fonseca, and is scheduled to face Sinner in January.
Last year, many ridiculed Sinner for claiming he did not play for money after winning the $6,000,000 prize. It seems evident that all players who compete in Saudi Arabia are at least partly doing it for the financial rewards.
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