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Tennis ace Nicolas Mahut has weighed in on the Roger Federer versus Carlos Alcarazdebate, firmly backing Federer as the supreme talent on grass. Federer boasts a record eight Wimbledon men's singles titles and a phenomenal total of 20 Grand Slam wins.

Defending champ Alcaraz certainly has his work cut out if he hopes to rival the Swiss maestro, yet his recent victories over Novak Djokovic hint at his rising prowess on the Wimbledon lawns.

The 22-year-old is gunning for his third consecutive Wimbledon crown, with America's Taylor Fritz standing in his way in the semis on Friday after Alcaraz dispatched Britain's own Cameron Norrie.

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The young Spaniard's sensational performances have sparked talk of him being the new Federer. However, the Frenchman who has boys' singles and men's doubles wins under his belt at SW19, considers Federer incomparable, describing him as "by far" the greatest.

Speaking with L'Equipe, Mahut, 43, reflected on historic grass court champions: "On the question of the greatest servers on grass, we forget too quickly that Pete Sampras has won the trophy seven times in eight years and we forget Roger Federer, by far the number one in my opinion, with 12 finals in 16 years in the temple."

He doubts Alcaraz will surpass Federer's impressive haul, noting: "I don't think Carlos can ever dethrone him in terms of numbers. Because in addition to his eight Wimbledon's, Roger also has 10 Halle [German grass court tournament] titles to his name," reports the Express.

Mahut - who has won four ATP singles titles during his career - has voiced his admiration for Alcaraz, predicting multiple future Wimbledon victories, saying: "Will he continue to win 'Wim'? Yes, probably. What's already quite impressive is the evolution of his serve, which has just taken him into another dimension on this surface.

"At Queen's [which Alcaraz won], I saw the technical modifications he made to this shot. He's becoming monstrous at serving too, with a more direct gesture, especially in his racket lift.

"His preparation and balance have changed as well. It's the mark of the greatest who manage to evolve their shots significantly during their careers. He will never serve or volley like Federer or Sampras, and he will never return like Novak Djokovic, but he can do everything at an incredible level.

"His stats on grass also show his effectiveness in return games." However, Mahut acknowledged Alcaraz's tendency to make matches more difficult than necessary, citing lapses in focus.

He added: "At times, if he's not 100% focused, it can slip away a bit with small lapses in concentration. And since he's very playful, he can sometimes overdo it and get carried away. But as soon as he switches 'on', you might feel like you're at the bottom of a hill next to [Tadej] Pogacar, who accelerates and then remains alone in the world in a snap of fingers.

"Sometimes there's no one who can follow him. It's not necessarily his return quality itself but what he does afterwards. He has such an insane range of skills, such quick movement, with great mastery of footing on grass.

"He immediately tamed the contact between his feet and the grass. That's very surprising, generally, [because] the first years are tricky in this regard."