John McEnroe and Tim Henman assessed that Carlos Alcaraz has “room for improvement” after the Spanish star’s second round victory at the 2026 Australian Open.
Alcaraz downed world No 102 Yannick Hanfmann 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena.
The world No 1 was pushed hard by his 34-year-old German opponent in an opening set that lasted just under an hour and 20 minutes as he battled back from 1-3 behind.
The six-time major champion, who is vying to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam, overcame Adam Walton 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-2 in the opening round in Melbourne.
What did John McEnroe and Tim Henman say about Carlos Alcaraz’s performance?
Speaking on TNT Sports after Alcaraz’s win, McEnroe, a seven-time major singles champion, assessed that the 22-year-old will need to increase his level.
“You know, he came out sort of, and wasn’t clicking, Alcaraz, and Hanfmann actually had, you know, early chances to get ahead and rattle Alcaraz,” said the American.
“He did that a little bit in the first set, and honestly, Alcaraz was lucky to win that set in a way.
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“He just didn’t really play that well, of course the top guys want to save it for the second week. But you can’t bank on it. But he settled in as the match went on started doing his thing a little better.
“But he’s not gonna look at this match and be like, ‘wow, okay, that’s where I need to be’, because he’s definitely got some room for improvement.”
Former world No 4 Henman also gave his verdict on Alcaraz’s form so far.
“He can hit every shot, but sometimes he’s, you know, wanting to lengthen his highlight reel with all these incredible shots and sometimes I feel like he needs to rein it in a little bit,” said the Brit.
“But then you’ve got his great rival Jannik Sinner who’s saying he wants to bring a little more variation to his game — there’s no doubt that he is using that drop shot a little bit more.
“Sinner is perhaps finishing a few more points at the net, so yeah, interesting contrast, but yeah, I think Alcaraz has definitely got room for improvement.”
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Who will Carlos Alcaraz play in his next match?
In the third round, Alcaraz will take on 32nd seed Corentin Moutet in what will be the first meeting between the pair.
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