Mouratoglou’s honest admission: “Alcaraz played one of his worst matches”

Serena Williams’ former coach analyzed the Roland Garros semi-final between the young Spaniard and the new ATP No.1 Jannik Sinner

Patrick Mouratoglou always makes tennis fans discuss with his analyses. The latest concerns the Roland Garros semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The former coach of Serena Williams and Simona Halep explained how the young Spaniard won the challenge with the new ATP No.1 despite playing one of his worst matches in his career, from a technical point of view. According to Mouratoglou, only mental strength allowed him to get back into the match after a complicated start. Mouratoglou also recognized that Sinner, in total control of the match, felt cramps quite early due to less than optimal physical preparation. In fact, the Italian had to stop before the start of Roland Garros due to a hip problem, missing the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

“Alcaraz technically played one of the worst matches of his career and defeated the world number one. The lesson that emerges from the match between him and Sinner is that even when things don’t work, you can win. He was far, far away from his level. He didn’t feel the ball well nor his legs, he was extremely slow in everything he did, because the emotional part was taking over. Sinner was ahead 6-2, 2-0 and there was no match. Suddenly he started creaking and felt cramps. When you don’t feel well, you focus on yourself and don’t think about the guy on the other side of the net, who may also not be feeling well.

 

If you mentally stay there and keep trying, you can always have a chance. Many people tend to complain, one thing that doesn’t work. They say to themselves: I don’t feel anything. I’m playing horribly and I’m going to lose the game.

If you act like this, you have no chance of succeeding. You have to find a way to talk to yourself so you don’t sink. There is always hope. This mentality gave Alcaraz the chance to win in the end. The physical aspect also played a big role, because we all saw that Sinner had cramps quite early in the match due to poor preparation due to the stoppage,” analyzed the Frenchman