Toni Nadal has described Carlos Alcaraz’s Monte Carlo Masters loss to Jannik Sinner as a “bad result” and assessed that it may “raise some doubts” for the Spaniard.
Alcaraz was beaten 7-6(5), 6-3 by Sinner in the championship match at the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo last week.
The result denied Alcaraz a second consecutive Monte Carlo title and ended his 17-match winning streak on clay dating back to last year’s Barcelona Open final.
It also saw Alcaraz lose the world No 1 ranking to Sinner, ending his 22-week stint in top spot, which had started in November.
Speaking on Radioestadio Noche on Spanish radio channel Onda Cero after the Monte Carlo final, Nadal argued Sinner is currently “controlling his emotions better” than Alcaraz.
“It was a bad result for Alcaraz because Monte Carlo is the closest thing to Roland Garros,” said the 65-year-old.
“I think Alcaraz played at a pace that favoured Sinner… the gap between them is very small.
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“I think Sinner is controlling his emotions better. This result may raise some doubts for Alcaraz.
“Those conversations Alcaraz has with his bench are more due to nerves and frustration.
“Sinner was more consistent than Alcaraz.”
Following his run in Monte Carlo, Alcaraz competed at the Barcelona Open this week, but he was forced to withdraw after suffering a wrist injury in his first round win.
After Alcaraz’s shock third round loss to Sebastian Korda in Miami last month, Nadal revealed he thought Alcaraz may skip some tournaments as he thought the 22-year-old looked tired.
“I’ve seen him looking a bit tired. In some rallies, he seemed to be running on fumes and with less energy than usual, and I thought, ‘Maybe he’s going to stop playing in some tournaments’,” Nadal said.
“But he’s also fighting for the No 1 spot. I don’t know; Samu Lopez and he will decide.”
Toni Nadal coached his legendary nephew, Rafael Nadal, from the age of three until 2017 and helped him win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.
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The post ‘Jannik Sinner is controlling his emotions better than Carlos Alcaraz’, claims Rafael Nadal’s ex-coach appeared first on Tennis365.
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