London [UK], June 26 : Young Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz, who will defend his Wimbledon title from June 30 onwards at the All England, stands on the brink of a massive milestone.
If the world number two secures the Wimbledon title for the third successive year and makes it a hat-trick of wins, he will join legendary Bjorn Borg as the only men in the Open Era to complete a double of French Open-Wimbledon in consecutive years, as per ATP's official website.
Borg set a huge benchmark for future superstars of the game to follow between 1978 and 1980, when he captured the French Open and Wimbledon titles in a calendar year three times in a row, a feat that has not been replicated since.
Alcaraz arrives for the third Grand Slam of the season with a career-best 18-match winning streak, with title wins in Rome and Paris, defeating world-number-one Jannik Sinner in both the title clashes, with the latter being a five-hour classic which saw Alcaraz come from behind to capture a thrilling win.
The 22-year-old will be aiming to win his fifth successive title on natural surfaces, after victories at Wimbledon in 2023, 2024, the French Open in 2024 and 2025. This would also be his sixth Grand Slam title.
The transition from tough clay of Paris to grass surfaces has not proven to be easy even for the biggest stars of the sport. In the Open Era, Alcaraz is one of six men 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).
Only Borg has managed to secure the double in back-to-back years. Only one women's player has managed to secure the double in successive years during the Open Era, Stefanie Graf, who did it in 1995 and 1996.
Alcaraz arrives to London after securing his second Queens Club Championships title, positioning himself as a huge favourite for a hat-trick. The two-time Wimbledon champion has an impressive tournament record of 18 wins and two losses.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor