Carlos Alcaraz and John McEnroe had disagreement over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Carlos Alcaraz showed humility by disagreeing with John McEnroe after the tennis legend claimed that he was better than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were at the age of 21. The Spanish sensation was the youngest-ever player to land Grand Slams on all three surfaces when he achieved victory over Alexander Zverev to win last year's French Open - adding to his 2022 US Open title and his 2023 Wimbledon triumph.

As a result of his growing list of achievements at such a young age, seven-time singles Grand Slam winner McEnroe told Eurosport: "He's already better than Federer, Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic at 21. I've said this before and I'll say it again for the record. Carlos Alcaraz is my favourite player to watch. He's the most skilled young man I've ever seen at this age. It's hard to believe he can keep improving as he is already so good at everything."

When probed about the comments in conversation with ABC Tennis, however, Alcaraz showed his humble nature with a contrasting view. He said: "I have seen videos, but with some highlights, I cannot compare myself to them when they were my age.

"But it doesn't matter what I have achieved at this age if I stagnate here. I want to continue growing in my career and get to where Djokovic, Rafa and Federer are. The good ones and the greats have continued to improve in their careers until they are still 37 and 38 years old."

Alcaraz was ultimately able to defend his Wimbledon title last summer, seeing off Djokovic in a 6-2 6-2 7-6 win on Centre Court before turning his attention to the Olympic Games in Paris. There, the two tennis rivals met once again in the final of the singles tournament, but it was the seasoned Serbian who achieved the Golden Slam in a measure of revenge.

Despite losing to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the US Open after the Olympics in a shock defeat, Alcaraz has returned to his incredible form in 2025. The 22-year-old made it to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open before defending his French Open title at Roland Garros after a thrilling five-set final with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

To be the first to receive the latest Wimbledon news, join our WhatsApp community or Wimbledon newsletter

All eyes will be on the Murcia-born star on Friday as he takes on Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals of Wimbledon with hopes of securing a three-peat at the London-based Grand Slam. Alcaraz beat Fabio Fognini, Oliver Tarvet and Jan-Lennard Struff in his opening three rounds, before dispatching Andrey Rublev in the round of 16.

A 6-2 6-3 6-3 win over Cameron Norrie in Tuesday's quarter-final sees him face off against world No. 5 Fritz for his spot in the final, where he will face the winner of Sinner and Djokovic in the other semi.