John McEnroe attempted to clarify the divisive comment he made about Rafael Nadal during the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon.
The American tennis icon make headlines during last month’s French Open when he claimed Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner would both be favourites to beat a peak Nadal.
Alcaraz and Sinner produced one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all time at Roland Garros, with the Spaniard coming from two sets behind and saving three Championship points on his way to a remarkable victory.
It was Alcaraz’s second French Open title and his fifth Grand Slam in total at 22, the same age Nadal was when he won his fifth major.
Sinner is a year older than Alcaraz and has three Grand Slams to his name, twice winning the Australian Open and winning last year’s US Open.
Alcaraz and Sinner have in fact shared seven of the past eight majors, establishing themselves as the two best players in the world following the retirements of Nadal and Roger Federer and the decline of 38-year-old Novak Djokovic.
Reflecting on Alcaraz’s victory in Paris, McEnroe said on TNT Sports: ‘You took a look at them bringing their A-game right now – I’m saying Sinner and Alcaraz against Nadal on clay – you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best.
‘Do I think they’re going to reach, 20, 24 titles either one of them? No. Because I think that plateau is so hard it’s almost impossible; there’s more depth in the game, bigger hitters, and more things happen.
‘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.’
Despite the affection for Alcaraz and Sinner, McEnroe’s comments were seen by many as disrespectful to a player who is considered one of the best in history.
Nadal finished his extraordinary career with 22 Grand Slam titles, a record 14 of which came at the 14 French Open.
McEnroe referenced his French Open comments during Alcaraz’s Wimbledon quarter-final win over Cameron Norrie on Tuesday and appeared to make an amendment to his original take.
As Alcaraz breezed into the semi-finals with a 6-2 6-3 6-3 win, McEnroe said on BBC One: ‘I made a comment during the French [Open] where I said these guys [Alcaraz and Sinner] would have a shot… I didn’t say they would beat Nadal every time.
‘I said the fact that you would think these two players would actually go onto the court really believing they could do it – with Nadal in his prime – it shows you how much the level of the game has changed even in a couple of years.’
McEnroe’s comments were branded ‘disrespectful’ and ‘ludicrous’ by tennis coach Calvin Betton, who suggested peak Nadal would have beaten Alcaraz and Sinner ‘on the same day’ on his favoured surface.
Responding to McEnroe’s comments, Betton – who coached Henry Patten to the Wimbledon doubles title last year – said on the Tennis Unfiltered podcast: ‘Sinner and Alcaraz are both phenomenal tennis players.
‘Nadal would beat them both in straight sets on the same day in his prime. People are talking about how big they hit and how the game has moved on… try doing that when Nadal has got you pinned in the backhand corner hitting balls above your shoulders.
‘Ask Roger Federer how easy it is to hit big against Rafael Nadal on a clay court. The game hasn’t moved on that much, believe me.
‘They’ve got someway to go yet. It’s ludicrous and a little bit disrespectful to already be saying that. Are you kidding me? Come on.’
Two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz faces American fifth seed Taylor Fritz for a place in the semi-final. Sinner and Djokovic are both on the other side of the draw.
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