"More difficult to beat Jannik Sinner for Novak Djokovic than Carlos Alcaraz" - Serena Williams' ex-coach pinpoints why Italian troubles Serb

Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou has given his take on Novak Djokovic's rivalry with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and what it might look like in 2025. The French coach opined that it would be more difficult for the Serb to beat the World No. 1 than the Spaniard.

Djokovic, Sinner, and Alcaraz played some of the most riveting contests of 2024 and are gearing up to give fans more entertainment in 2025. The 37-year-old was handily outplayed by his much younger rivals, losing to them on three of the four occasions.

Mouratoglou recently discussed the rivalry during a conversation on the ‘Eye of the Coach,' a Tennis Majors exclusive. Naomi Osaka's coach thinks Djokovic's luck against Sinner and Alcaraz will not turn around anytime soon, given the duo's high level.

He believes it will be tougher for the 24-time Grand Slam champion to beat Sinner than Alcaraz because the Italian hardly misses any shots and matches the Serb's ability to cover the court and play the shots early. The Frenchman argued that for Djokovic to match Sinner on the court, he would need to be in his best shape.

“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," the French coach said.

Mouratoglou believes that facing Alcaraz will also be challenging for the man from Belgrade, given his powerful game style, speed on the court, and ability to change directions.

"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," Mouratgolou added.

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Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Paris Olympics gold medal match; lost to Jannik Sinner twice in 2024

Picture from 2024 Summer Olympics (Source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic had a below-par season by his standards, as he failed to win any titles in 2024. His only success this year came at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he fulfilled his lifelong dream of winning a men's singles gold medal. The Serb defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Olympics.

This was the former World No. 1's only win against either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner in 2024. The Spaniard defeated the Serb in the final of the Wimbledon Championships. Meanwhile, Djokovic lost both his encounters against Sinner.

The Italian's first win came at the Australian Open, where he defeated the Serb in the semifinals and went on to win the title. The second win was in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, China, denying the veteran a chance to break his 2024 title drought.