Would Carlos Alcaraz beat prime Rafael Nadal on clay? Stefanos Tsitsipas thinks it’s possible

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas has agreed with John McEnroe’s comments about how Carlos Alcaraz would fear against prime Rafael Nadal. There has been a lot of comparison between the two players, largely because they both came from the same country, have shown similar kinds of passion on the court, and started achieving success from the early stages of their respective careers.

Nadal, also known as the ‘King of Clay’ for winning 14 French Open titles, retired from the sport last year. On the other hand, Alcaraz lifted his second title at the Roland Garros after beating Italy’s Jannik Sinner in an epic five-set thrilling final with a score of 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. Alcaraz saved three championship points in the fourth set and lifted the title after winning the contest, which lasted more than five hours and became officially the second-longest final in the history of Grand Slams in the Open era.

Former world number one McEnroe spoke to TNT Sports on June 09 after the French Open final. It stated that picking Alcaraz or Sinner as a favourite over Nadal would not be entirely wrong, considering the talent of both players.

"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 favored to beat Nadal, at his best,” he said. "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."

Tsitsipas has now spoken to Tennis365, where he agreed with the comments made by McEnroe. Tsitsipas was of the opinion that if he would pick Alcaraz over Sinner to get the better of Nadal on clay because he is a more ‘creative player’.

“I have played both of them. Both of them are great ball strikers, both on clay and hard, but I would favour, as a creative player more, more of a creative player on clay, I would favour Carlos,” he said. “I feel like he has way more options when he plays and it’s quite evident and clear. I mean, it’s not something absurd. And I would favour obviously Sinner on hard courts. So I would give Carlos more chances on Nadal on clay. If I have to bet my money somewhere. I feel like Carlos would have chances against prime Nadal on clay. I think so. I’m not saying he would have beaten him, but he would have had chances to create something special against him.”