John McEnroe blasted as Roger Federer’s ex-coach angry at Carlos Alcaraz claim

John McEnroe caused a stir last month when he claimed that Rafael Nadal would have lost to either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz in his prime on the clay of Roland-Garros

Roger Federer’s former coach Ivan Ljubicic has slammed John McEnroe for his “nonsense” claims about Rafael Nadal during the French Open last month. The American tennis icon sparked controversy when he said after Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s legendary clash that either player could have defeated 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal at his peak on the Paris clay.

As the two new standard bearers for men’s tennis, Sinner and Alcaraz did not disappoint, producing an instant classic in the Roland-Garros final. The Spaniard, 22, came from two sets behind and saved three Championship points to claim his second French Open title and fifth major overall in astonishing fashion.

The pair faced off again at Wimbledon earlier this month, where Sinner, 23, avenged his gruelling defeat to Alcaraz to claim his fourth Grand Slam title.

After witnessing what many considered to be one of the all-time great Grand Slam finals, 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.”

Those comments were interpreted by some as disrespectful towards Nadal, who retired last year after clinching an incredible 14 French Open titles. One person who most notably took issue was former tennis player Ljubicic, who coached Nadal’s long-time rival Federer between 2016 and 2022.

“It was a very, very, very good final,” the Croatian said. “And the drama was perfect with the match points saved. But people always exaggerate.

“John McEnroe said Nadal wouldn’t have stood a chance against these boys. That’s nonsense. We haven’t seen the best of Alcaraz and Sinner yet. They still have a lot of room for improvement.

“But I don’t think they’re ahead just yet. I sometimes watch matches from 2005, 2008, 2012, 2015 [between] Roger and Rafa. That was already incredible tennis.”

McEnroe has already taken the step to clarify his earlier comments, saying during Alcaraz’s Wimbledon quarter-final victory over Cameron Norrie: “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.”