John McEnroe shares strong views on Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Swiatek

One can never really doubt where John McEnroe stands on things. While some of his opinions might rub a few people the wrong way, McEnroe is also refreshing in that he doesn’t make up facts to form his strong opinions. He speaks from what he knows, not from what he guesses.

So when John McEnroe speaks about Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Iga Swiatek, as he did recently with Eurosport, he talks with keen observations. About Alcaraz, McEnroe says, “The best player I’ve ever seen at his age. It’s incredible how good he is already.”

About Djokovic, McEnroe said, “Novak is incredible how good he still is…The way he looks, it looks like he can do it 3-4 more years the way he is going.” 3-4 more years? That would be insane and would put Djokovic at 40 years old before he retires.

John McEnroe shares his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Iga Swiatek

Sure, most of the world wants to see a US Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. John McEnroe does too. Of course, he does! McEnroe knows what’s good for tennis. How much did McEnroe help grow the sport in the 1970s when he was facing off against Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl?

Simply put, Djokovic, arguably the greatest player of all time, versus Alcaraz, already joining the conversation about being the best ever even though he is only 20 years old, is great for tennis. New eyes tune in to watch the two play. Tennis needs to grow its viewership, especially in the United States. While Americans might love it if a player like Tommy Paul made the final, they’d likely still want to see Alcaraz and Djokovic.

While John McEnroe thinks that WTA number 1 Iga Swiatek is doing a “great job” of keeping her hold on her top ranking, he also sees two players who have recently beaten Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, as real challengers to the Pole at the US Open. McEnroe feels the women’s side of the last major of the year is “unpredictable.”

And that is clearly true. While Swiatek has been atop the WTA rankings for 73 straight weeks, she has never been truly dominant in Grand Slams. She has won four, but three of them were at the French Open. Swiatek does know how to win at the US Open, however, as she won the major in 2022.