"That's nonsense" - Ivan Ljubicic fires back at John McEnroe's claim that Alcaraz and Sinner would defeat prime Rafael Nadal

Wednesday, 16 July 2025 at 06:30

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz met for the second straight Grand Slam final at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, with the World No.1 gaining some revenge for his Roland Garros loss to the Spaniard a few weeks ago. The duo have been touted as the future of tennis, with several believing they could shatter records set by their predecessors.

Their Roland Garros clash was an epic encounter that is widely regarded as one of the best Grand Slam finals in tennis history. Both men battled in a five hour plus slugfest, with Alcaraz prevailing in five sets. Subsequently, they would meet again at SW19, with Sinner winning in four sets.

McEnroe claims the duo could defeat Prime Nadal, Ljubicic thinks different

Following their marathon match in Paris, there was understandably a lot of hype regarding their talent, ability and grit. Such was the excitement that former World No.1 John McEnroe speculated that either of the two athletes could have beaten Rafael Nadal in his prime on the red Parisian clay.

Retired Croatian tennis star was asked for his opinion on the thrilling French Open final between Alcaraz and Sinner. While the former coach of Roger Federer had high praise for the duo, he took the opportunity to contradict McEnroe's statements.

"It was a good final," said the former World No.3. "A very, very, very good final. 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.
"The next generation is always better than the previous one. But I don't think they're any further ahead yet. I sometimes watch matches from 2005, 2008, 2012, 2015 of Roger and Rafa. That was already incredible tennis."

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Both athletes will turn their sights to New York for the US Open this summer. Either Sinner or Alcaraz have won every Grand Slam title this season, and the US Open may be no different based on their current form.

@wimbledon Jannik Sinner defeats Carlos Alcaraz to win his first Wimbledon title 🇮🇹 #Wimbledon #tennis #JannikSinner #CarlosAlcaraz ♬ original sound - wimbledon

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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