Jannik Sinner (L) and Carlos Alcaraz (R)
- The coach predicted that Jannik Sinner would outperform Carlos Alcaraz in 2024.
- Sinner’s strong finish in 2023 inspired confidence for next season.
- Alcaraz won two Grand Slams in 2023 but struggled after Wimbledon.
Patrick Mouratoglou, one of the greatest tennis thinkers and a top coach, shared his thoughts on who of the two outstanding young players, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, will have a stronger 2024 season.
Mouratoglou, who has coached players like Serena Williams, Simona Halep, and others, said he believes Sinner will outperform the reigning Wimbledon champion in the upcoming season given the quality of play she showed at the end of the 2023 season.
Alacaraz had two Grand Slams under his belt, and the French coach wasn’t afraid to acknowledge that he has the advantage against Sinner in certain areas of the game. Still, he thought the Italian will be a stronger player than the 20-year-old the next season.
“I think Jannik, with what he’s done at the end of 2023, will be 100% ready to perform at the highest level,” he said in an Instagram Post. “It is true that Carlos is a few steps ahead compared to Jannik because he won two Grand Slams. He has been No 1, he had a lot more tools, and when he came to the tour he started to win.
“He could do anything, he could attack, he could defend, he had this incredible drop shots, he was coming to the net a lot and he was very effective at the net. He was already complete.
“The last two, three years I think Jannik developed a lot of other things. Now he is drop-shotting a lot more, he is coming to the net a lot more with efficiency. I think he is ready to do more things and adapt to different situations.
“With the confidence of the last months, I see him playing better and stronger than Carlos next year.”
Alcaraz had a fantastic start to 2023, but after defeating Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in London, he was unable to keep up his winning streak and drastically declined.
The Spaniard dominated the first half of the year and won six titles until July, but Sinner became unplayable in August. The Italian won three of the four events he participated in, defeating Djokovic in the ATP Finals round match and the Davis Cup semifinal.
