Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou reacts to Carlos Alcaraz disagreeing with him saying Jannik Sinner isn't 'above' Spaniard

Patrick Mouratoglou recently reacted to Carlos Alcaraz's response to his assertions, where he had claimed that Jannik Sinner was currently not head and shoulder above the rest of his peers. The Spaniard had lauded the World No. 1's impressive consistency while maintaining that he is way ahead of the pack following his Australian Open triumph.

Mouratoglou took to his social media handle last week to argue that Sinner was on par with Alcaraz in the men's singles pecking order. The Frenchman also insisted that their matches always go 50-50, meaning that the Italian was not necessarily the superior player in the rivalry.

Carlos Alcaraz replied to Patrick Mouratoglou's comments soon after, expressing his disagreement while saying that Sinner's dominance put him clear as the best player in the world. Serena Williams' former coach got wind of his response on Monday (February 3) and inferred through his reaction on X (formerly Twitter) that it was typical of Alcaraz to swat aside any unwarranted discourse.

"Classic," Patrick Mouratoglou wrote in response to Carlos Alcaraz's comments on comparison with Jannik Sinner.

On Thursday, Mouratoglou initially claimed that the four-time Major winner Alcaraz had defeated Jannik Sinner in some big matches, which undermined the World No. 1's dominance in the Frenchman's eyes.

"Jannik is not above everyone.," Mouratoglou said in an Instagram reel on Thursday. "I don't think he is above Carlos. I think when Carlos is at his best, there is a real match and I'm not sure who's gonna win. Nobody can say who's gonna win. And all their matches have been extremely close, extremely uncertain, and Carlos won some big ones against him.

"So I wouldn't say that he is above. I think those two players, him and Carlos, are above everyone else."

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Carlos Alcaraz: "I think Jannik Sinner is the best"

Jannik Sinner poses with 2025 Australian Open title (Source: Getty Images)

Speaking to the media on Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz addressed Patrick Mouratoglou's comments surrounding their rivalry. While the Spaniard understood where the French coach was coming from, he still asserted that Jannik Sinner's recent results merited his recognition as the best men's tennis player at the moment.

"Well, I mean Jannik, he’s the best right now," Carlos Alcaraz told the media. "He lost four or five matches in one year, so it’s something crazy. You know, I understand the people, the talk about who is better. I understand all the discussion, but for me, we have to face Jannik. I think he’s the best.

"I hear what Patrick Mouratoglou said, but I just don’t agree with that. Every tournament he plays, he makes the final or he wins the trophy"

Sinner, meanwhile, withdrew from his Rotterdam Open title defense, citing fatigue after his third Major triumph in Melbourne. Alcaraz will begin his post-Australian campaign in his rival's absence at the ATP 500 tournament in the Netherlands on Tuesday (February 4).