Tennis legend John McEnroe may have gotten a bit carried away while covering the French Open final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.
McEnroe, winner of seven majors, covered the French Open as an analyst for TNT. It would be an understatement to say he was excited that Sinner and Alcaraz reached the final, and most people feel McEnroe went overboard with his praise of the top two players in the world prior to the final.
McEnroe said he believes both Sinner and Alcaraz would be favored to beat Rafael Nadal on a clay court even if Nadal were in his prime.
“I know this is semi-crazy to say this because we just watched the three greatest players that ever lived over the last 20 years — Roger (Federer), obviously, Rafa and Novak (Djokovic). These two guys, to me, if you took a look at them bringing their A game right now, and I’m saying Sinner and Alcaraz against Rafael Nadal on clay … you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favored to beat Nadal at his best,” McEnroe said.
McEnroe added that he does not believe either Sinner or Alcaraz will win 20-plus majors because of the level of competition currently in the sport, but his take on Nadal was as scorching-hot as it gets.
"They would be favourite to beat Nadal at his best!"
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) June 8, 2025
John McEnroe believes you could make an argument for Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz beating Rafa Nadal at his best on clay.
Do you agree? 🤔#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/YuhSghehF4
To McEnroe’s credit, Sinner and Alcaraz followed his comments by playing one of the greatest tennis matches in the sport’s history. The match lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes, with Alcaraz winning despite dropping the first two sets and Sinner having triple-championship point in the fourth set.
Still, to say either Sinner or Alcaraz would be favored over the “King of Clay” in his prime is borderline irresponsible. Nadal won the French Open 14 times and never lost a final match. His career record at Roland Garros was 112-4. There is a reason there is now a permanent tribute to Nadal built into the court at the French Open.
