ATP Tour

No 1 Club

Alcaraz’s record grass clip: faster than Federer, better than Borg

Wait... what?!

Rafael Nadal took fewer matches to reach 30 grass wins than Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic? Indeed he did. The Spanish legend hit the milestone with a 30-7 record, better than eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer (30-11) and seven-time SW19 champion Djokovic.

While you ponder that, consider this: Carlos Alcaraz, who has already matched Nadal's two Wimbledon titles, has scorched the early marks of the 'Big Three' - and all former World No. 1s - in an astonishing start to his grass-court career. 

Of the players to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings in the Open Era, the 22-year-old is the fastest to claim 30 wins on grass, a mark Alcaraz secured when he defeated Fabio Fognini in the first round of Wimbledon. Alcaraz has just three losses on the surface.

Tied for second on the list are John McEnroe and Boris Becker, who each needed 35 matches to claim 30 victories, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. This fortnight, Alcaraz is aiming to lift his third Wimbledon trophy, the same number McEnroe and Becker each won during their illustrious careers.

First To 30 Wins on Grass (in Open Era)  - Former No. 1s of PIF ATP Rankings

Player	Record
Carlos Alcaraz	30-3
John McEnroe	30-5
Boris Becker	30-5
Andy Roddick	30-6
Lleyton Hewitt	30-7
Rafael Nadal	30-7
Andre Agassi	30-8
Andy Murray	30-8
Mats Wilander	30-8
Ilie Nastase	30-9
Novak Djokovic	30-10
Stefan Edberg	30-10
Yevgeny Kafelnikov	30-10
Pete Sampras	30-10
Roger Federer	30-11
John Newcombe	30-11
Jimmy Connors	30-12
Bjorn Borg	30-14
Ivan Lendl	30-14
Juan Carlos Ferrero	30-15
Daniil Medvedev	30-16
Patrick Rafter	30-17

Alcaraz is on a 13-match winning streak on grass, dating back to last year’s early exit to Jack Draper at The Queen’s Club. The five-time major champion, who has defeated Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals (2024, 2023), has not lost at the grass-court major since 2022, when he fell to Jannik Sinner in the round of 16.

On Wednesday, Alcaraz plays British qualifier Oliver Tarvet in the Wimbledon second round. Should he win, the Spaniard will join a select group of players (see table below) to notch 20 consecutive wins this century. (*Djokovic, Federer Nadal notched 20 straight wins on multiple occasions, the table below just shows their longest streaks.)

Longest Win Streaks (Since 2000)*

Player	Wins	Start	End
Novak Djokovic	43	2010 Davis Cup Final RR1	2011 Roland Garros SF (l. to Federer)
Roger Federer	41	2006 US Open 1R	2007 Indian Wells 2R (l. to Canas)
Rafael Nadal	32	2008 Hamburg 2R	2008 Cincinnati SF (l. to Djokovic)
Andy Murray	28	2016 Davis Cup SF RR2	2017 Doha final (l. to Djokovic)
Jannik Sinner	26	2024 Shanghai 2R	2025 Rome final (l. to Alcaraz)
Juan Martin del Potro	23	2008 Stuttgart 1R	2008 US Open (l. to Murray)
Daniil Medvedev	20	2020 Paris 2R	2021 Australian Open final (l. to Djokovic)
Andy Roddick	19	2003 Montreal 1R	2003 Davis Cup Play-Offs RR1 (l. to Hrbaty)
Carlos Alcaraz	19	2025 Rome 2R	Active Streak

- Research courtesy Jon Jeraj