“I’ve never seen such a strong player at that age,” John McEnroe speaks highly of ‘complete talent’ Carlos Alcaraz

McEnroe has started admiring Alcaraz and cannot believe that the young Spaniard is just 21 years old right now. 

“I’ve never seen such a strong player at that age,” John McEnroe speaks highly of ‘complete talent’ Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz, John McEnroe (Images via Imago)

In the eyes of John McEnroe, Carlos Alcaraz is the best young player. The former World No.1 is in Paris covering the Roland Garros for Eurosport and on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron awarded the French Legion of Honor to the American. 

On that occasion, the 65-year-old former tennis star spoke highly of Alcaraz’s game and compared it with the Big 3- Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. McEnroe has started admiring Alcaraz and cannot believe that the young Spaniard is just 21 years old right now. 

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Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic have reached a level that we did not think we would imagine reaching one day. Then comes a guy like Carlos and we say to ourselves, my God! I've never seen such a strong player at that age. With such complete talent.
John McEnroe told Lequipe at Elysee

Alcaraz is bidding to win his first title at Roland and has reached the third round where he will face America’s Sebastian Korda on May 31. He defeated J.J. Wolf and Jesper De Jong in the previous two rounds. 

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John McEnroe praises Carlos Alcaraz’s on-court attitude

Carlos Alcaraz‘s attitude while playing is one of his biggest strengths, according to John McEnroe. Alcaraz went past J.J. Wolf in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 but fumbled a bit while facing Jesper De Jong, winning in four sets 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. 

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via Imago)

McEnroe believes if Alcaraz is healthy, he can pull off victories on any surface. He pointed out that Alcaraz wants to save his energy in these early rounds to go deep in the tournament. The American also heaped praise on the World No.3’s ability to smile under pressure. 

I'm sure every player would love to have this attitude. It's crazy. To be able to go through tense moments and have those ups and downs, it's so good to see. It's certainly true that his biggest attribute is being able to smile in tense situations. 
John McEnroe told Eurosport 

The two-time Grand Slam champion’s preparation for the French Open was hampered by the arm injury he suffered during last month’s Madrid Open, which made him miss the Italian Open.

He has won only one trophy this season, which came at Indian Wells where he defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. The event in the Spanish capital and was the only clay-court tournament Alcaraz played before kick-starting his Roland Garros campaign. 

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