Naomi Osaka's coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has outlined why he thinks Novak Djokovic finds Jannik Sinner more challenging to play against than Carlos Alcaraz.
After dominating men's tennis in 2023, Djokovic did not manage to repeat that this year. 2024 was the first season since 2017 that the Serbian failed to win one of the four Grand Slams.
Instead, Sinner and Alcaraz were the outstanding ATP players. Sinner secured Australian Open and US Open titles, while Alcaraz's Grand Slam tally is now up to four after he won the French Open and Wimbledon.
The young duo's development has led to debates about whether they should be compared to Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. Those three are widely considered the greatest players ever.
Nadal has made it clear that he does not think comparing Alcaraz and Sinner to him, Djokovic, and Federer is helpful. The 14-time French Open champion would prefer that the media allow them to keep improving at their own pace.
However, Thanasi Kokkinakis believes that mentioning Alcaraz and Sinner alongside Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer is reasonable because of the incredible level they produce that will only undoubtedly become even better.
Djokovic's reaction to challenging Alcaraz and Sinner in 2025 was to hire Andy Murray as his coach. Murray played seven Grand Slam finals against Djokovic, and the decision stunned tennis fans worldwide.
Although a surprising move, Djokovic might benefit from Murray's tactical insights when he competes against his two young rivals in 2025 since the Briton had one of the best strategic brains during his playing career.
It is crucial to remember that Djokovic managed an outstanding and memorable victory against Alcaraz in the Olympic gold medal, triumphing 7-6, 7-6. The Serbian's main goal for the season was securing a gold medal, meaning his year felt successful despite not winning a Grand Slam.
By contrast, Djokovic failed to beat Sinner in 2024 despite playing him three times. The Italian overcame the tennis legend at the Australian Open, Shanghai Masters final, and the Six Kings Slam exhibition.
Mouratoglou, who also coached Simona Halep and controversially gave her the contaminated collagen that led to her doping suspension, explained in an episode of the Tennis Majors' video series 'Eye of the Coach' why Djokovic struggles more against Sinner.
"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."
Regardless of who he struggles more against, it will be tough for Djokovic to compete against Alcaraz and Sinner at age 37, but it would also be foolish to write off the 24-time Grand Slam champion.