'I faced Djokovic, Federer and Nadal in their prime - McEnroe is wrong about Alcaraz'

Aged just 22, Carlos Alcaraz already has six Grand Slam titles to his name, and he's just started his 43rd week as the world No. 1. Together with Jannik Sinner, the Spanish star is dominating men's tennis, and they've shared the last eight Major titles between them.

It's led legends like John McEnroe to make huge claims about Alcaraz. When the world No. 1 successfully defended his French Open title earlier this year, McEnroe said he was "the most talented kid I have ever seen on a tennis court."

The American added: "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."

However, one former player who faced Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in their prime isn't so convinced.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a former Australian Open finalist who won 18 career titles and peaked at No. 5 in the world, believes Alcaraz and Sinner are benefitting from competing in a different era.

Tsonga, who hung up his racket in 2022, believed the field was stronger in his generation, and didn't want to make comparisons when Alcaraz would never have to face the Big Three and co in their prime.

"Honestly, it's true that he's developing more. He's a really complete player. He is really complete," Tsonga said on the Univers Tennis podcast in response to McEnroe's comments.

"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 quarter-finals, Federer in the semi-finals and Nadal in the final.

"That's what I would have liked to see in real life, because today he dominates head and shoulders."

While Alcaraz never got to face Federer or Del Potro, he's still played multiple matches against Djokovic, Nadal and Murray towards the ends of their careers. And he beat Djokovic and Nadal back-to-back on his way to the 2022 Madrid Open title.

The world No. 1 had a 1-2 record against Nadal and a 1-1 record vs Murray by the time they retired. Alcaraz currently has a losing 4-5 head-to-head against Djokovic, but he won their latest match in the US Open semi-final.