Carlos Alcaraz is behind Bjorn Borg in the statistics after the victory in the third round
In the world of tennis, being mentioned in the same breath as Bjorn Borg usually means you are doing something legendary. For Carlos Alcarazit’s just regular friday in melbourne.
The world number 1 received a ticket for the fourth round in 2026 Australian Open with a clinical 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 victory over France’s Corentin Muthe on Friday.
While the match itself was the highlight, with a stunning tweener from Alcaraz electrifying Rod Laver Arena, it was the history behind the victory that really turned heads.
The victory marked Alcaraz’s 87th Grand Slam match victory. In his first 100 major matches, only the legendary Bjorn Borg was eligible more wins in the Open Era, he sits just one ahead with 88. To put that into perspective, Alcaraz has officially surpassed the early career scores of Rafael Nadal (86), Novak Djokovic (79) and Roger Federer (80).
The match was played like a game of rapid chess on a tennis court. Moutet, a renowned maestro of trick shots, threw everything at the Spaniard: delicate cuts and a barrage of drop shots that forced Alcaraz into the net over 50 times during the two-hour and five-minute contest. Despite the Frenchman’s attempts to wreak havoc in the center court, Alcaraz’s raw power and basic aggression proved overwhelming.
The dominance of the Spaniard was on full display as he hit 30 winners and didn’t drop a set for the third straight match in two weeks.
Even a brief error in the second set, where Moute reeled off four straight games to take a 4-3 lead, could not shake the 22-year-old. Alcaraz simply flipped the switch, came right back and cruised through the final set.
Alcaraz now turns his attention to American Tommy Paul in the Round of 16. With the Australian Open the only major missing from his trophy cabinet, the young phenom is just four wins away from becoming the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam.
2026-01-23 07:23:00
