ATP Tour

Alcaraz can join Borg & Graf in the history books this Wimbledon

As Carlos Alcaraz returns to the iconic grounds at the All England Club, the two-time defending Wimbledon champion stands on the brink of another historic milestone.

Should the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings triumph at the grass-court major for the third consecutive year, he will join Bjorn Borg as the only men in the Open Era to complete the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in consecutive years.

Borg set the benchmark for surface mastery between 1978 and 1980, when he captured both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles three years in a row — a feat unmatched since.

Alcaraz arrives at the third major of the season riding an 18-match winning streak, the longest of his career, punctuated by titles in Rome and Paris, where he defeated World No. 1 Sinner in both finals. The 22-year-old Spaniard is now bidding to win his fifth consecutive major on natural surfaces, following triumphs at Roland Garros in 2023-2024 and at Wimbledon in 2023-2024.

The rapid transition from the slow, grinding clay of Paris to the slick grass of SW19 within three weeks has humbled even the greatest champions. Alcaraz is already one of only six men in the Open Era to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, joining Rod Laver (1969), Borg (1978, 1979, 1980), Rafael Nadal (2008, 2010), Roger Federer (2009) and Novak Djokovic (2021).

Yet, only Borg has managed to accomplish the double in back-to-back years, highlighting the magnitude of the challenge that lies ahead. Only one WTA player has completed the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in consecutive years in the Open Era: Stefanie Graf, who did it in 1995 and 1996.

Alcaraz arrived in London with ‘little expectation’ at last week’s HSBC Championships, but surged to his second title at Queen’s Club, further cementing himself as a favourite to claim a historic Wimbledon three-peat. The two-time defending champion boasts an 18-2 tournament record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.