Carlos Alcaraz trails just Bjorn Borg in this stat after third-round win at the Australian Open

In the world of tennis, being mentioned in the same breath as Bjorn Borg usually means you’re doing something legendary. For Carlos Alcaraz, that’s just a regular Friday in Melbourne.

The world No. 1 punched his ticket to the fourth round of the 2026 Australian Open with a clinical 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 victory over France’s Corentin Moutet on Friday.

While the match itself was a highlight reel, featuring a jaw-dropping “tweener” from Alcaraz that electrified Rod Laver Arena, it was the history behind the win that truly turned heads.

The victory marked Alcaraz’s 87th match win at a Grand Slam. In his first 100 major matches, only the legendary Bjorn Borg has claimed more wins in the Open Era, sitting just one ahead at 88. To put that in perspective, Alcaraz has officially outpaced the early-career marks of Rafael Nadal (86), Novak Djokovic (79), and Roger Federer (80).

The match played out like a high-speed chess game on a tennis court. Moutet, a known trick-shot maestro, threw everything at the Spaniard: delicate slices and a barrage of drop shots that forced Alcaraz to the net over 50 times throughout the two-hour and five-minute contest. Despite the Frenchman’s attempts to bring chaos to the center court, Alcaraz’s raw power and baseline aggression proved overwhelming.

The Spaniard’s dominance was on full display as he racked up 30 winners and didn’t drop a single set for the third consecutive match this fortnight.

Even a brief second-set hiccup, where Moutet reeled off four straight games to lead 4-3, couldn’t rattle the 22-year-old. Alcaraz simply flipped the switch, breaking back immediately and coasting through the final set.

Alcaraz now turns his attention to American Tommy Paul in the round of 16. With the Australian Open being the only major missing from his trophy cabinet, the young phenom is just four wins away from becoming the youngest man ever to complete the Career Grand Slam.

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