Follow us on Google Discover Former Grand Slam finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has responded to the strong claim John McEnroe made about Carlos Alcaraz.
McEnroe is not afraid to make a bold claim, and that was no different when he made comments about Alcaraz earlier this year.
For most of the 21st century, the ATP Tour has been dominated by the big three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.
With two of those three players now retired, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have taken the reins, leading to big predictions being made about both players.
Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images
When speaking at the US Open earlier this year, McEnroe compared Alcaraz to the big three, claiming that he was the most talented player he has ever seen at this age.
“This guy Carlos Alcaraz at 21 or 22 is the most talented kid I have ever seen on the tennis court,” McEnroe said.
“That is more than Roger Federer, Nadal and 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.”
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup
Someone who knows what it is like to play against Djokovic, Nadal and Federer on multiple occasions is Tsonga, and he was asked about McEnroe’s comments on a podcast episode for Univers Tennis.
While Tsonga accepted that Alcaraz is ‘a complete player’, he suggested that the level of competition on the ATP Tour was higher before he retired in 2022.
“Honestly, it’s true that he’s developing more. He’s a really complete player,” Tsonga said about Alcaraz. “He is really complete. Afterwards, is he stronger than those players today? Mentally, physically, well we don’t really know.
“What I would have liked to see is Alcaraz win Roland Garros, but by beating [Juan Martin] Del Potro in the third round, [Andy] Murray in the fourth round, Djokovic in the quarterfinals, Federer in the semifinals and Nadal in the final. That’s what I would have liked to see in real life, because today he dominates head and shoulders.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s Career Achievements at 22 compared to Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Alcaraz went on to win the US Open last month, which was his sixth Grand Slam title at just 22 years old.
The Spaniard has one more major tournament he can win before turning 23, with Alcaraz bidding to complete the Career Slam at the Australian Open next year.
When comparing Alcaraz to the big three at the same age, he had won more Grand Slam titles than both Djokovic and Federer, and is level with Nadal on six.
ATP Players before turning 23Carlos AlcarazNovak DjokovicRafael NadalRoger FedererBest rankingNo.1No.2No.1No.1Number of titles24173619Grand Slams6163
Despite Djokovic now leading the Grand Slam leaderboard with a record 24 Grand Slam titles, he is the only player of the four who had not become world number one before turning 23 years old, instead achieving the feat when he was 24.
That being said, Djokovic now leads that statistic and has been world number one for a total of 428 weeks.