Alcaraz already has five Grand Slam titles to his name, but he still has a long way to go in his bid to match the achievements of tennis’ fabled ‘Big Three’.
He is currently fighting to claim a sixth at the US Open, where he is set to face Italian Luciano Darderi in the third round on Friday.
McEnroe says that Alcaraz is the most talented player he has ever seen at 22, despite his closely-fought rivalry with Sinner.
‘Why did you give her a question?’ – Shelton’s press conference hilariously crashed by Rodman
Video credit: SNTV
“In my opinion, if both guys play their best, Carlos Alcaraz is the better all around player.
“If he brings A- or below, Sinner is going to beat him. That is what it boils down to.
“This guy Carlos Alcaraz at 21 or 22 is the most talented kid I have ever seen on the tennis court.
“That is more than Roger Federer, [Rafael] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic, who I have great respect for. I idolised Rod Laver, I played Pete Sampras.
“This guy is astoundingly good when he is on. One of the quickest guys who has ever been on the court, incredible personality, the attitude is amazing. He has got every shot in the book. Everything.”
Alcaraz reached the third round of the US Open with a straight-sets victory over Italy’s Mattia Bellucci.
His rival Sinner is also still in the competition, and he is set to take on Australia’s Alexei Popyrin on Thursday night.
Doubles great Patrick McEnroe disagrees with his brother, and believes that Sinner is the better of the two.
“I give Sinner the slight edge at the moment, although when you look at just the head-to-head, it favours Alcaraz very significantly,” he added.
“But this year, you have got to look at the fact Sinner has won two of the three majors. He wins Wimbledon for the first time and overall he is more consistent.
“I think this loss here at Wimbledon is going to give Alcaraz a little bit more of an edge. He looked, for him, like a little passive in that match.
“He couldn’t believe that Sinner was just taking it to him. I think he is going to come here to New York thinking, ‘Okay, now I have got something to prove’.
“So I give Sinner the slight edge, but I think Alcaraz is right there and he has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.”
Watch and stream top tennis action live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+