Carlos Alcaraz, World number three, does not take greatness lightly. When Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, ranked him higher than Jannik Sinner, his reaction revealed a lot about rivalry and respect. Recognizing the Italian’s consistent performance, Alcaraz expressed his views and dismissed Mouratoglou’s claim concerning Sinner.

Sinner achieved his third Grand Slam career title in Melbourne this season, overcoming Alexander Zverev. With this victory, Sinner became the fourth player since the early 1990s who faced no break points in a men’s singles Grand Slam final.

Maintaining Alcaraz as superior to Sinner in performance, Mouratoglou had stated, “Jannik is not above everyone; I don’t think he’s above Carlos. I think when Carlos is at his best, there will be a real match, and I’m not sure who will win. Carlos won some big ones against him. So I wouldn’t say that [Sinner] is above [Alcaraz].”

Despite compliments from the esteemed coach, the Spaniard said, “Jannik has proven to be the best at the moment, it’s crazy what he’s doing. I understand that people argue about who is the best between us two, but for me and for the tennis players who play against him, Jannik is the strongest. I disagree with what Mouratoglou said. Jannik will have lost 4/5 matches in a year; he has no ups and downs. In every tournament he participates in, he either reaches the final or lifts the trophy.”

Alcaraz’s statement highlights his admiration towards his career’s biggest rival and demonstrates that the respect is indeed reciprocal.

Speaking of Alcaraz’s talent, Jannik Sinner earlier said, “I wake up in the morning trying to understand how to beat Alcaraz. I feel like—at least talking from my side—he pushes me to do better. I wake up in the morning trying to understand what I can do better trying to beat him next time, which is something nice for me as a player.” Along with his statement, Sinner also claimed that he is good friends with Alcaraz off the court. The ATP number one star then referred to their on-court personalities as ice and fire with a great compliment to the Spaniard. “It also shows that everyone is different. I believe that I have to take something from him as a player, trying some different shots sometimes, which I feel like makes me grow as a player.”