Serena Williams' ex-coach reveals how Carlos Alcaraz won Monte-Carlo Masters despite not playing his best

Serena Williams' ex-coach revealed how Carlos Alcaraz managed to win the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters even though he wasn't at his finest during the tournament. The Spaniard has kicked off his European clay swing in perfect style and will look to gain all the momentum he can before his big title defense at the French Open.

Though no one in the tennis fraternity questions the immense tennis prowess Alcaraz possesses, his consistency has always been a huge topic of discussion. Even in 2025, the Spaniard entered the European clay swing after a topsy-turvy start to the season, and many felt his performance at the Monte-Carlo Masters would be crucial for the rest of the swing.

Alcaraz received a bye into the second round as a result of being the second seed, following which he defeated Francisco Cerundolo, Daniel Altmaier, 12th seed Arthur Fils, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the final. The 21-year-old defeated 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to conquer the Monte-Carlo Masters for the first time in his career.

Speaking on his triumph, Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou explained how Carlos Alcaraz, who was not at his best, according to the French coach, triumphed against all odds to reign supreme in the first Masters 1000 of the clay swing, because he has the 'biggest quality of champions'. It is worth noting that Alcaraz came back from a set down in three matches during the event.

"Now, I'm supposed to be the one taking that spot. Pressure. He's won the Monte-Carlo Masters. Did he play well? Not even close to his level. He was struggling big time, missing so much."

"He dug incredibly deep to win that won. That's one of his best quality that nobody name. Everybody says, "This guy, he is good everywhere, he can volley, he can serve and volley, he can slice the backhand, he can dropshot, he has the power,"... All this is true. But the most important is his ability to win."

The French coach also touched upon the former World No. 1's run to his French Open win last year, where he defeated Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev en route.

"And if you remember, even Roland Garros last year. He didn't play his best by far, and he beat Sinner, and then he beat Zverev in final, not playing his best. That's probably the biggest quality of the champions, to win when they play bad."

Mouratoglou then talked about the significance of Alcaraz's win.

Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou explains the importance of Carlos Alcaraz's Monte-Carlo Masters triumph

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters - Source: Getty

Continuing his thoughts, Patrick Mouratoglou then explained the significance of Carlos Alcaraz's triumph in Monte-Carlo, citing the pressure a player faces to remain at the top.

"And I think this victory (Monte-Carlo Masters) is very important to him. The victory of Carlos Alcaraz is very interesting for so many reasons. It shows how much is difficult to stay at the top. The pressure is so heavy."

He also talked about how Jannik Sinner's absence created a lot of opportunities as well as pressure, making it hard for others to capitalize on it. Alcaraz himself admitted that the pressure had 'killed' him.

"Now that Sinner is out for three months, there's a huge opening spot, and as we've seen during the US season is that none of the top 3 was able to take the spot. There was an opportunity and a lot of opportunities and a lot of pressure."

Carlos Alcaraz's win in Monte-Carlo has helped him overtake Alexander Zverev to become the new World No. 2. He is also now leading the year-end ATP Finals race.