Returning home without a title after the ‘Sunshine Doubles,’ Carlos Alcaraz quickly regained momentum with a triumphant run in Monte Carlo. Clinching his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title appeared to bring him significant relief. As Alcaraz himself noted, “It’s been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations. I’m really proud of myself for how I’ve dealt with everything.” In less than a week, Patrik Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams and current coach of Naomi Osaka, publicly praised (read criticized) Alcaraz’s performance in Monte Carlo, offering his insights into the qualities that truly define him as a “champion.”

Just a few months ago, Mouratoglou claimed, “Jannik is not above everyone. I don’t think he’s above Carlos.” Then in March this year, he spoke about what makes Alcaraz so special. “If you look at Alcaraz, for example, he’s more a puncher… it’s very interesting too because yes, he can do so many different things and he does everything so well..That’s crazy.” Although he wasn’t too pleased with Alcaraz’s performance at the Monte Carlo Masters, even this time, the Frenchman didn’t forget to mention what separates Alcaraz from others.

On Friday, Patrick Mouratoglou posted a reel on his Instagram account. There, he analyzed Alcaraz’s performance in the last few weeks, especially his win in Monte Carlo Masters. “He’s (Alcaraz) won Monte Carlo. 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 one. That’s one of his best quality that nobody name.”

For the record, Alcaraz played five matches in Monte Carlo, and three out of them were three-setters (including the final against Lorenzo Musetti). Mouratoglou said he feels that the most important thing about Alcaraz is “his ability to win.” He then drew parallel to Carlitos’ win at the 2024 French Open.

“If you remember well, even Roland Garros last year, he didn’t play his best by far and 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 badly, and I think this victory is very important to him.” Why does he think so, though?

“It shows how much difficult it is to stay at the top. The pressure is so heavy. Now that Sinner is out for three months, there is a big opening spot, and as we’ve seen during the US swing is that none of the Top 3 was able to take that spot.”

Even Carlos Alcaraz himself admitted the same in Monte Carlo: “A lot of people are asking me, or are telling me, that I have the chance to become No. 1 if Jannik isn’t playing. So probably that pressure has killed me in some way.” Even after his defeat to Jack Draper at the Indian Wells’ semis, he admitted, “I think today I was more worried about his (Draper’s) level, his game, than myself.“

In an exclusive interview with Tennis365 coinciding with the release of his insightful book, Champion Mindset, Patrik Mouratoglou noted that Carlos Alcaraz’s raw honesty is unusual among top-tier athletes.  “Most other players would not say it, that is his choice,” said Serena Williams’ ex-coach in March. “We will see how he plays now after he has said this. We will see if he feels less pressure now that he has said this, that he admitted his weakness of that moment. Maybe the fact that he verbalised it will put more pressure on him, we’ll see. It is unusual to hear this.”

Interesting Fact: Carlos Alcaraz (2510) has dethroned Jannik Sinner (2000) in the ATP Race. He has now also become the new world number 2 in the ATP PIF Rankings, replacing Alexander Zverev.

Can Alcaraz reduce the gap with Sinner by an impressive performance at the ongoing Barcelona Open? 

Carlos Alcaraz secured his spot in the QF of the Barcelona Open to extend his winning streak

The two-time champion (2022,2023) took 71 minutes to beat Serbia’s Laslo Djere by 6-2,6-4 in the R16 of the Barcelona Open. After this victory, Carlos Alcaraz said, “I think as much as I can win in straight sets, it’s much better to save energy for the matches that I have coming forward. I think I played great tennis, even better than the first round, even though I had to come back from 4-2 in the second set.“

Alcaraz now has a 27-1 record on Spanish clay courts since the start of the 2022 season, including 12-0 in Barcelona. Can he find more success on this surface in 2025?

Well, tennis legend Jimmy Connors recently revealed what Alcaraz needs to do after winning the title in Monte Carlo: “Keep grinding. Because when you keep grinding the better player, not always but the majority of the time is going to come out on top because he figures out a game to turn a game which is only 70 or 80% into a winner.“

He further added, “That is the key. You can’t play 100% every time. Turning a game where you don’t feel right, or your game is not in order, or you are a little lethargic to still come out and win. That is what makes a great player in my opinion, but that is just my opinion. He has that ability. Especially on the clay.“

Next up for Alcaraz is Australia’s Alex De Minaur (7). This will be their fourth meeting on the Tour. Who has the real edge in this epic duel?