Patrick Mouratoglou, the renowned tennis coach, recently shared his insights on Carlos Alcaraz, highlighting the young Spaniard’s versatility compared to tennis greats Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Mouratoglou pointed out that while Alcaraz may lack the peak consistency of Nadal and Djokovic, his game is distinguished by its variety and dynamism.

Alcaraz has emerged as a dominant force in tennis over the past two years, securing three Grand Slam titles out of the last seven and achieving an impressive record of 34 wins in 36 matches, with victories at Monte Carlo, Rome, the French Open, and Queen’s Club.

“It was a different type of tennis, with two players [Djokovic and Nadal] that are crazy consistent, building the points a lot,”

Mouratoglou explained at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown event in Guadalajara. “If you look at Alcaraz, for example, he’s more of a puncher, but I think it’s very interesting too because he can do so many different things and he does everything so well. He drop shots, he comes to the net, unbelievable power, unbelievable touch, he can return, volley, and he does all this in a match. That’s crazy.

“So that’s very interesting. It’s never boring; something happens all the time. Of course, he’s not as consistent as Rafa and Novak at their peak, or Sinner now, who’s incredibly consistent, but he’s more fiery.”

In head-to-head matchups, Alcaraz initially lost twice to Nadal before securing a win in their third meeting. Against Djokovic, he trails 3-5. Mouratoglou also noted the shift in physical profiles within the sport, observing that most top players are now taller and thinner, citing Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev as examples.

“Clearly there is a change in terms of body type of the tennis player for the last years,” Mouratoglou said. “They are taller and taller, they are thinner and thinner. Look at the top guys, I mean there is one exception, Carlos Alcaraz, but all the other guys… have the same body type and I think it’s the modern body type. Huge serve, huge power! Because when you’re able to accelerate at the same speed as someone who is smaller but with longer arms, I mean the ball goes much faster.

“So yes, the new generation is like this. Of course, [Joao] Fonseca is one of those. Incredible power, incredible forehand, going so fast. So yes, that’s the new tennis.”

Alcaraz’s recent 20-match Wimbledon winning streak ended in a hard-fought final loss to Sinner, after which he withdrew from the Canadian Masters. He is scheduled to play in the Cincinnati Masters and will defend a modest 50 ranking points at the upcoming US Open, where he will also compete in the mixed doubles event with Emma Raducanu.

Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, will head to the US Open without participating in the ATP Masters 1000 events preceding the tournament. Following his withdrawal from the National Bank Open in Toronto, Djokovic announced he is also pulling out of the Cincinnati Open for a “non-medical” reason. This marks the second consecutive Masters 1000 event he will miss before the final Grand Slam of the season.

Djokovic is a three-time Cincinnati Open champion, most recently securing the title in 2023 by defeating Carlos Alcaraz. His absence at the Cincinnati event this year coincides with the one-year anniversary of his Olympic gold medal victory in Paris, after which he also missed the tournament last year.

The 38-year-old Serbian last competed at Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals for the third time this season before losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner, who also defeated Djokovic in straight sets at Roland Garros earlier this year. Reflecting on his recent performances, Djokovic commented, “I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes, yeah, the worse the condition gets.”

He further explained the challenges of facing young, fit opponents, saying, “I reach the semis of every slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz. These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that. It is what it is, you know? It’s one of these things I accept and embrace in some way, deal with the reality the way it is, and try to make the most out of it, I guess.”

Despite skipping Cincinnati, Djokovic will participate in the US Open’s reimagined mixed doubles event during Fan Week in New York. He and fellow Serbian Olga Danilovic received a wild card alongside six other teams, with the competition set for August 19-20 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the 2025 Cincinnati Masters for the second year in a row, heightening concerns about his physical condition. The former world No 1 had planned to return to the tour at the seventh Masters 1000 event this season after also withdrawing from the Canadian Masters. He skipped both tournaments in the previous year but had a strong run at the Paris Olympic Games post-Wimbledon with six additional matches.

Djokovic’s last match was a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 semi-final defeat at Wimbledon against world No 1 Jannik Sinner, marking his fifth consecutive loss to the Italian. Notably, Djokovic suffered a severe slip during his quarter-final against Flavio Cobolli. In the match against Sinner, Djokovic appeared physically compromised and struggled to employ his usual defensive play.

In his post-match press conference, Djokovic reflected on his condition: “Honestly, wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court. I don’t want to talk, in details, about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best. I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That’s it. He’s in the finals. He was too strong.”

He acknowledged the challenges brought by age and physical wear: “I do feel, yeah, disappointed that I just wasn’t able to move as well as I thought or hoped that I would. I don’t think it’s bad fortune. It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest.”

Djokovic noted the difficulty of best-of-five set matches this year, particularly facing young and fit opponents like Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. “I feel like I’m going into the match with tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that. It is what it is, you know? It’s one of these things I accept and embrace in some way, deal with the reality the way it is, and try to make the most out of it, I guess.”

His withdrawal from Cincinnati means Djokovic will head to the US Open without any hard-court match play for approximately 44 days. Despite this unusual preparation, he boasts an impressive record at the US Open with 10 finals appearances and four titles, maintaining an 87% win rate across 104 matches. His most recent US Open campaign ended in a third-round loss to Alexei Popyrin, his earliest exit since 2006.