"Rafael Nadal at 21 was dominating prime Federer";"Lazy analysis" - Fans disagree with John McEnroe over comments on Carlos Alcaraz

Recently, former American player, John McEnroe opined that Carlos Alcaraz was better at 21 than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic were at the same age. However, fans asked McEnroe to take into consideration the fierce competition that the trio faced at that age.

During a Eurosport pre-French Open final show, McEnroe did not shy away from the fact that he was a fan of Alcaraz. He heaped heavy praise on the youngster for his skills. McEnroe said that the Spaniard is a better player at 21 than what the 'Big 3' were at the same age.

Fans, though, did not agree with his views, claiming that there were other factors to be considered.

"He’s wrong. Consider the competition. He’s just trying to hype up interest in tennis as the Big 3 era ends," one fan wrote.

"Listening to McEnroe’s comments in recent times, I have learned to not to take him seriously," another stated.

Several fans were of the opinion that Nadal was better than Alcaraz at 21. When Grand Slam titles are taken into account, both Spaniards, who won three at age 21. Meanwhile, Federer had none, while Djokovic had one. However, Carlos Alcaraz has won majors on all surfaces, a stark differentiator as Nadal had only won the French Open.

"In terms of his game, maybe he is more complete. But he ain’t better than Rafa at 21. Rafa was facing much better opponents also," a fan wrote.

"Surely not. Rafa at 21 was dominating a peak Federer," another opined.

"Correction: Alcaraz > Djokovic at 21–not better than Rafael Nadal/Roger Federer at 21. Nadal would beat Alcaraz (French Open) in straight sets at 21. Federer would beat Alcaraz on every surface BUT clay at 21. McEnroe gave lazy analysis—slave to the moment. Everyone settle down," wrote yet another.

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Alcaraz goes past Federer and Nadal to become youngest player in Open Era to win Grand Slams on all surfaces

Thanks to his 2024 French Open triumph, Carlos Alcaraz set several milestones at an extremely young age. One of them was becoming the youngest player in the Open Era (21 years and 35 days) to win a Grand Slam title on all surfaces (hard, grass, and clay).

Rafael Nadal (22 years and 243 days) is second on the list and Roger Federer (27 years and 303 days) is fifth.