Carlos Alcaraz is a unique and generational talent, with John McEnroe perhaps his biggest fan.
The American pundit, who enjoyed a storied professional career himself, routinely names the 23-year-old as his favourite player on tour right now, highlighting him as the most entertaining talent the sport has to offer.
However, despite all his gushing praise, spread over many years now, he remains insistent on one thing.
That is, despite Carlos Alcaraz’s level and all he has already accomplished, he will still struggle to reach the levels set by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
John McEnroe claims Carlos Alcaraz won’t reach Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic’s level
Speaking on the latest episode of the Off Court podcast, a special edition which featured regular input from John McEnroe, he discussed the Spaniard’s return to tennis at the US Open after five months out injured.
Discussing his loss to Ben Shelton and his smiling walk off court, the 67-year-old stated: “It seemed like he walked off the court at the US Open with a smile on his face, and hopefully he will not feel the after effects and go on from there.”
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McEnroe then issued his worry: “But one of the reasons for me that it’s going to be so difficult for Carlos to get close to Novak and Roger in terms of their Grand Slams is that there are more bigger guys, like Shelton, who can come out and just play unbelievable matches and, in some cases, take the racket out of even Carlos Alcaraz’s hands at times and frustrate him.
“This is the dilemma that he’s facing. If you watched him play, it did not look like he had a whole lot of rust. The rust, if you want to call it that, came up against a better player who was playing the best match of his life. He fed off the incredible energy that was there.
“So it was positive. Even though as the tournament went along you thought Carlos was going to win it, he didn’t quite get to his A-game, and his body did catch up to him a little bit, but a lot of that you have to credit Ben for. So I just want to say thanks to Carlos again that he came and played; it was huge for the US Open for him to come back.”
After his loss, Alcaraz suggested the US Open made a mistake for his match vs Shelton.
This showdown has also since sparked debate over whether tennis should scrap the best-of-five format, as it only finished at 3:34 am, the latest in US Open history.
Carlos Alcaraz learns nightmare Shanghai Masters draw
Whilst his Japan Open run remains ongoing / has only just ended, Alcaraz has already learnt his Shanghai Masters draw.
The turnaround is laser-quick, with the main draw starting this Wednesday, but fortunately the world number three will at least be afforded a first-round bye.
His opening two rounds are expected to pit him against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Ignacio Buse, before Tommy Paul should await him in the quarter-finals.
Daniil Medvedev, who has impressed at the China Open this week, could then be his quarter-final opponent, before Felix Auger-Aliassime, based on seedings, should meet him in the semi-final.
Alexander Zverev, fresh from his dramatic three-set defeat to Djokovic in Beijing, remains the top seed and an expected finalist.
