French Open 2023: Carlos Alcaraz 'a complete player' - John McEnroe says 'sky the limit' for star
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Updated 31/05/2023 at 17:47 GMT
World No. 1 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz has certainly impressed tennis legend and Eurosport pundit John McEnroe, who was commentating on his second-round match against Taro Daniel on Wednesday afternoon. McEnroe was asked about how many Grand Slam titles Alcaraz could win, and he said "he should get at least that much" when he initially threw out the number 10 in response.
'He is a complete player' - McEnroe gushes over Alcaraz game and talent
Eurosport expert John McEnroe says Carlos Alcaraz can win "at least" 10 majors as he gave his assessment of "a complete player" watching the Spaniard perform at the 2023 French Open.
Alcaraz, who defeated Taro Daniel in four sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday afternoon, is the world No. 1 and the top seed at Roland-Garros as he seeks his second Grand Slam title and first on the famous red dirt in Paris.
With defending champion Rafael Nadal having withdrawn from the event in advance due to his ongoing injury struggles, much of the attention is on Alcaraz to deliver for Spain and succeed the 'King of Clay' at the tournament he has made his own over the years.
While Alcaraz is hardly flying under the radar - with the precocious Spaniard tipped for glory, along with fellow leading contender Novak Djokovic - McEnroe believes that "the sky seems to be the limit at this point" with the 20-year-old's game and general talent on the court.
"You’re darn right [that Alcaraz could win more majors]," McEnroe told Eurosport commentator Chris Bradnam.
"You say 10 [Grand Slams] and that sounds absurd to the other guys who are at 20, 22. You then think that he should get at least that much. I always thought, ‘hey, I’ve got seven, that’s pretty good’, but now it’s like, ‘where did I go wrong?’
"The sky seems to be the limit at this point. Expectations are so high; you want to temper them and put more pressure on him, but he seems to handle it unbelievably well. At some point, it’s going to hit him, and we just hope he will be ready for it then.
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Alcaraz 'should get at least' 10 Grand Slams with 'sky the limit' - McEnroe
"Truthfully, I think he is a complete player," he continued. "His backhand could be better, and I’m trying to think what else. I’d give [all his attributes] an A or an A+. His backhand would be a B+. That’s not to say it’s bad.
"I’m not kidding, this is the best I've ever seen a 20-year-old, as complete a player. Sampras had the biggest serve I ever saw in my life. How could someone that age serve that big? Becker was another. Pete’s backhand [was weaker], and Boris maybe didn’t move as well as some of the other guys.
"You could look at a couple of things and figure that if they won as much as they did, if they did improve, they weren’t already completely there. [Alcaraz] is all there."
Speaking after Alcaraz's victory over Daniel to reach the third round at Roland-Garros, Eurosport experts Tim Henman and Alex Corretja reflected on another very impressive display from the Spaniard.
"He was brilliant," Corretja said of his countryman. "His forehand always works well. You see his forehand is like a rocket. He’s serving better, his backhand is not a problem, and his footwork is good."
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'He's just on a different level' - Henman and Robson react to Alcaraz victory over Daniel
Henman added: "He’s not quite at Rafa’s level, but he’s getting there. He is the world No. 1 for a reason. He’s won a Slam, and he is so comfortable on clay.
"You felt that he had a few gears to go, and he upped his level in the third and fourth sets, upping his intensity, and his level of play is so impressive. Even though he dropped a set, he’ll feel comfortable and confident going into the third round."
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