"This is not Federer–Nadal. It’s something new" - Mouratoglou claims 'unique' Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry is different from Federer-Nadal one

Patrick Mouratoglou has distanced the Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz rivalry claims from the Roger Feder-Rafael Nadal one which were played out in the 2000s, labelling what is currently happening as 'something unique.'

The pair have dominated the ATP Circuit for the last two years, regularly picking up huge titles and challenging each other in the biggest finals tennis can offer. They have split the last eight Grand Slam titles between each other, amongst other tournament successes including a plethora of Masters 1000 triumphs and the recent ATP Finals.

They have been recently trading the world number one ranking, with Alcaraz taking that honour into the new year despite Sinner's efforts to snatch it back off the Spaniard. There is no one close to regularly competing with them. Even when they are not at their best, it can be a challenge for anyone to get a result against them. This has culminated into a special rivalry, giving echoes of previous battles between greats of the sport.

Federer and Nadal made up two of the legendary 'Big Three' along with Novak Djokovic. They terrorised the tennis world, winning title after title. Fans fondly reminisce on their brilliance in their pomp, and now they get to experience something similar today with Alcaraz and Sinner playing their trade.

"Before the Big Three, tennis had a Big Two: Roger and Rafa," Mouratoglou wrote on Linkedin, opening up the gripping rivalry the duo endured. "Back then, something unusual was happening: Roger was the best player in the world, beating everyone, dominating the tour, but Rafa was the best between the two. Because of the matchup, because of the patterns, because Roger didn’t have the solutions at that time. It was a paradox, and a fascinating one."

He went on to compare that legendary rivalry with one tennis fans are enjoying around the world currently. "Today we have a World No. 1 named Carlos Alcaraz who has defeated his nemesis Jannik Sinner in 10 out of their 16 matches. Alcaraz leads their Grand Slam final head-to-head 3-1, and 4-2 in total Grand Slam matches. However, Sinner consistently overplays every other opponent on the Tour and has nearly tied Alcaraz in the ATP rankings despite missing three months of play. He is often pictured as the 'real' No. 1, which leads to this perception, even more after his dominance at the ATP Finals: Sinner is better than anyone else, but Alcaraz is the best of the two."

Despite all the claims and similarities Sinner and Alcaraz's current rivalry has with Federer and Nadal's Mouratoglou is not seeing it. "Sorry, but I don’t buy it. Even though Carlos leads their head-to-head, their matches are extremely close," he said. "The Roland-Garros final was decided by tiny details, nothing suggested that one player didn’t have the answers for the other. Technically, tactically, mentally, they are equals. What truly separates them is how they dominate everyone else. Jannik does it with focus, margin, and no fluctuations. Against most players, there’s simply nothing they can do. Carlos does it differently, with creativity, risk, explosive winners, and sometimes more ups and downs. But when he raises his level, no one can live with him."

"So no, this is not Federer–Nadal. It’s something new. Something unique. And honestly… we are incredibly lucky to witness it from the beginning," he concluded.