John McEnroe has claimed that both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner would beat Rafael Nadal “at his best” after the pair contested an extraordinary French Open final.
Alcaraz roared back to win a remarkable match in five sets having saved three championship points late in the fourth to force a decider.
A first grand slam final meeting between the two outstanding players of their generation is unlikely to be the last, with the Spaniard defending his French Open crown to continue a run of six straight majors won by the pair.
Their emergence comes soon after the retirements of Nadal and long-time rival Roger Federer, with Novak Djokovic also likely to soon follow them in concluding his playing career as the three most successful male tennis players of all-time bow out in quick succession.
Nadal’s 22 grand slam titles included 14 triumphs at Roland Garros between 2005 and 2022 as the left-hander established himself as virtually unbeatable on the Paris clay courts.
Three-time Wimbledon winner McEnroe believes, though, that Alcaraz and Sinner would both be a match for Nadal even in his prime.
"You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best," McEnroe said on TNT Sports, speaking before the final epic.
“Do I think they're gonna reach 20, 24 [titles], either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard.
"But these two guys right now, it's like when you watch the NBA and you say nobody could be better than Michael Jordan. The tennis level right now is higher than I've ever seen.”
Alcaraz won his fifth grand slam barely a month after his 22nd birthday, extending his advantage over Sinner in terms of tally of titles to two.
The Italian had been hoping to add French Open success to major wins in Melbourne and New York, but found himself stunned having powered into a two-set lead.
While the duo are clearly ahead of their contemporaries currently, McEnroe believes another player may yet rise to match them, with British No 1 Jack Draper among those he feels could do so.
"These two kids have grown into incredible tennis players, they're fine young men and a credit to our game," the American explained. "The third guy, to me, it should be either Jack Draper, or Ben Shelton. Francis Tiafoe may be a little bit old.
"I remember when I was growing up playing, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors were the two greats and everyone talked about them. My goal was to get somewhere close to their level.
“Novak [Djokovic] was the same way when he played, it was always about Rafa [Nadal] and about Roger [Federer]. In order for the sport to expand to that next level on the men's side, we need that other guy, possibly a fourth. We need a guy or two more to make it even more interesting."
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