"Keep his name out of your mouth" - Rafael Nadal fans slam Patrick Mouratoglou for claiming he is a clay courter while Carlos Alcaraz isn't

The latest comparison between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz by Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou hasn't gone down well with tennis fans.

Mouratoglou recently shared his opinion on the man of the moment – Carlos Alcaraz. In a video posted on social media, he praised the 19-year-old Spaniard’s prowess on all surfaces. However, Mouratoglou also seemingly undersold the all-surface achievements of Rafael Nadal, to whom Alcaraz is often compared.

"I think Carlos Alcaraz is an all-court player, I don't think he is a clay-court player," Mouratoglou said. "Rafa is more of a clay court player. He has learned to be good on other surfaces, but originally, he was really a clay court player, which is not the case for Carlos."

Carlos Alcaraz has lifted three of his biggest titles on hard courts - Indian Wells, Miami, and the US Open. But his other five titles, including a Masters 1000 in Madrid, have come on clay.

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, has found the majority of his success on clay courts. He has won as many as 63 of his 92 titles on the surface, including 14 French Open titles and 26 Masters titles.

However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has also lifted 25 trophies on hardcourts, including four US Opens, two Australian Opens, and 10 Masters 1000s. He has four grass titles to his name too – two at Wimbledon and one each at the Stuttgart Open and the Queen’s Club Championships.

Nadal is also the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam, winning all four Majors at least once by the age of 24.

Tennis fans thus did not take kindly to Patrick Mouratoglou’s opinion and heavily criticized the French coach for his seemingly inaccurate take on the two Spanish tennis players. Many argued that Nadal's high degree of success on the red dirt cannot be used to label him a claycourt player given that he is so successful on other surfaces as well.

One fan stated that Nadal earned better results in his career when he was Carlos Alcaraz’s age.

“Nadal had a Wimbledon Final, a couple of M1000s on HCs and had won RG twice by the time he was 20, Alcaraz has 1 M1000 on clay, no Wimby Finals, 1 USO and a couple of M1000s on HC. Make of that information what you want,” the fan said.

“'Clay courter' who's still the youngest player who completed the career grand slam btw,” another fan said.

Here are a few more reactions:

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Rafael Nadal withdraws from the 2023 Madrid Open

Rafael Nadal’s comeback continues to be delayed, as the Spaniard announced on Thursday that he would be absent from the upcoming Madrid Open. He earlier withdrew from two other clay court tournaments - Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.

The 36-year-old hasn’t competed since his early exit at the 2023 Australian Open. In his latest statement, Nadal stated that the hip injury he sustained at the Slam Down Under was taking longer than expected to heal. He also refused to specify an exact date for his competitive return.

"We are in a difficult situation. I will not be able to be in Madrid. The injury still hasn't healed. I can't give deadlines because if I knew I would tell you but I don't know," he said.