John McEnroe is a huge fan of Carlos Alcaraz, and he proclaimed the Spaniard better than Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer at 21 years of age.
When we look at the history of the Big Three, we notice that only Nadal was truly a spectacular player as a teenager. Federer took some time to really become a devastating force, and Djokovic had a bit of a slow start as well.
The Spaniard was out there at 18, beating some of the best players in the world. Alcaraz is different in that regard from the majority of the Big Three because he stepped in as a teenager to really take over the ATP Tour in 2022.
When he won the US Open that year, Alcaraz became number one in the ATP Rankings, the youngest man to ever do so. He is now 21 years old, and he's added a third Grand Slam trophy in Paris by beating Alexander Zverev in the final.
After the final, John McEnroe declared him the best 21-year-old that he'd ever seen. It's not new because McEnroe has made similar proclamations about Alcaraz in the past. He called him various types of the best, most complete young player, which is obviously very high praise.
"I got to say this, just for the record, Carlos Alcaraz is my favorite player to watch. He's the most skilled young man I've ever seen playing at this age. It's hard to imagine he can keep improving cause he is so good at everything already."
The Spaniard certainly got off to a quick start. At 21, he won three Grand Slam trophies, which makes him the active player on the ATP Tour with the join third-most trophies behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
"But he's better than Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic at 21 for me... Alcaraz is a unique individual that we need around in the sport for long time. You gotta love what he brings to the sport."
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