Borg pushes Alcaraz: “He will win as much as Nadal, if not more”

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Bjorn Borg firmly believes in the talent of Carlos Alcaraz, so much so that he has stated that the young man from Murcia will end his career with Nadal’s victories or even more. The Swedish tennis legend is in Barcelona, where his son Leo also tried (unsuccessfully) to reach the main draw of the ATP 500 that started yesterday in the Catalan city.

He obviously spent time with many of the players present, as shown by the various photos shared on social media. From Spain, a long chat with Tsitsipas is reported, then he cordially greeted the new Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz, a big favorite for the title in Barcelona too. Carlos and Bjorn spent some time together, talking about tennis and more.

Borg then released a short but significant statement to the Spanish TV network RTVE, responding clearly to a question about Carlos’ future. “I think Alcaraz will achieve the same results as Nadal, if not more,” Borg says sibylline. “He has the right mentality and can play his best tennis on all surfaces. With a bit of luck, he will become the king of tennis.”

At just 21 years old (he will turn 22 on May 5), Alcaraz already has 4 career Slam titles obtained on three different surfaces, and 18 titles overall. The road to reach Nadal at 92 titles and 22 Slam titles is still very long.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1911798196411437192
 
Raz can realistically go
2 ao
5 rg
4 wimby
3 uso

To reach 14.

And 9 on natural surfaces.

I think that is not bad.
Nadal
2 ao
14 rg
2 wimby
4 uso

Heavily clay skewed. Raz is not Nadal to win 15 rg everyone agrees. But more non clay slams is not bad.
 
Borg has to say nice things about Spanish players after meeting them, the nicer the merrier.

But when he say, Alcaraz will surpass Nadal, the first impression everyone will get is that Alcaraz will win >14 Roland Garros, not Alcaraz will win more Wimby than Rafa.

He said something as a fan, not as a critic. There's a vast difference.
 
roysid said:
Borg has to say nice things about Spanish players after meeting them, the nicer the merrier.

But when he say, Alcaraz will surpass Nadal, the first impression everyone will get is that Alcaraz will win >14 Roland Garros, not Alcaraz will win more Wimby than Rafa.

He said something as a fan, not as a critic. There's a vast difference.
Click to expand...
Yes

People blame McEnroe for over exaggeration.

I think Johny mc understands tennis more than Borg. Borg just does fan service. So his words carry little weight.
 
He has that potential and is already one of the most successful 21 year olds in tennis history so it's not far fetched from that standpoint but realistically a whole hell of a lot has to go perfectly right to reach those heights so it's incredibly unlikely. Plus he needs to tweak his game to become a HC threat which is where most titles are to be had.
 
Alcaraz surpassing Nadal means, Borg thinks he will be second only to Djokovic, and knock Nadal down to number three.

Interesting that he feels Djokovic cannot be caught.
 
I used to say 10-12, but I think he can get to PETE territory. Not having 2 fellow 20+ schlem winners to duke it out with will definitely help him too. That being said, Borg is just another in a long line of people being caught up in recency bias. I don’t see anyone getting to 20+ schlems anytime soon. I think Carl’s results will be heavily impacted once he loses his speed. His lack of height and limb length will ultimately be too much to overcome when his prime ends. He’s clearly an early bloomer like Youngdal was.
 
Hitman said:
Alcaraz surpassing Nadal means, Borg thinks he will be second only to Djokovic, and knock Nadal down to number three.

Interesting that he feels Djokovic cannot be caught.
Click to expand...
Dude I don't even know Borg knows how many slams Nadal and Djokovic have.

He is disinterested in tennis since retirement. And talks just as a fan would. He is not McEnroe.
 
The Blond Blur said:
I used to say 10-12, but I think he can get to PETE territory. Not having 2 fellow 20+ schlem winners to duke it out with will definitely help him too. That being said, Borg is just another in a long line of people being caught up in recency bias. I don’t see anyone getting to 20+ schlems anytime soon. I think Carl’s results will be heavily impacted once he loses his speed. His lack of height and limb length will ultimately be too much to overcome when his prime ends. He’s clearly an early bloomer like Youngdal was.
Click to expand...
To win 20+ you need to be above the tour.

Let's see. Carlos has shown glimpses of it in 2023 clay and grass season winning 4 titles and losing twice once due to cramps.

I think Carlos will go near double digits on natural surfaces. That is his strong suit. And yes Sampras numbers are very possible.

I give him minimum 12 but realistically 14 slams.

And sinner minimum 7 but realistically 16 slams.

Rest of the tour I don't think matters much. We will have very similar 2 men domination.
 
NYTennisfan said:
And that matters why?

You people are too stuck in this Strong Era/Weak Era nonsense. Titles are titles, doesn't matter which era. Nobody outside of fanboys on the internet places asterisks on title wins.
Click to expand...
Who talked about asterisks?

Surpassing to me means being better, this comparison only exists to create media propaganda and nothing more since the two aren't even close to the same level. That is, assuming you watched tennis 15-20 years ago.
 
The fact is rest of the tour won't matter. I think we can prop up the guys as much as we want, raz will figure out how to beat them like sinner does today.

This is not 80s and 90s to have many winners of slams.

This year sinner is second favorite for both wimby and rg despite never being in final of either.

Nothing has changed from big 3 times and we are still going to get more and more repeat winners of grand slams.

Let's be objective. Who won slams in last 8 attempts.

Raz 3 and sinner 3. Djokovic is fading quickly so he doesn't matter.

It's raz and sinner only. They will likely get to finals of RG or Wimbledon one of them at least. And they will win slams for at least next 3 years with possible upset win by zverev Djokovic

12 slams is very very real prospect for raz. If not MORE
 
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Yes there is no point degrading either sinner or Carlos. Unless they get Murray like hip issues , they will both go double digits.

Sinner has shown some vulnerability with physique but I don't know if it's grave enough.
 
The Blond Blur said:
I used to say 10-12, but I think he can get to PETE territory. Not having 2 fellow 20+ schlem winners to duke it out with will definitely help him too. That being said, Borg is just another in a long line of people being caught up in recency bias. I don’t see anyone getting to 20+ schlems anytime soon. I think Carl’s results will be heavily impacted once he loses his speed. His lack of height and limb length will ultimately be too much to overcome when his prime ends. He’s clearly an early bloomer like Youngdal was.
Click to expand...
Rafa lost his foot speed in 2017 and won 8 slams after with Federer and Djokovic around. Roger lost his right arm past 30yo with his new racket and won 3 slams. Novak had stamina issues past 30 yo and more loss of focus from one day to the other , one set to the other (End of third Set of WIM18 SF , 2nd set of USO 2023F , 4th set against in AO205 QF, 2nd set of RG23SF ,etc...) and he won 12 slams. Agassi , Wawrinka won more slams past 28 than before. Since alcaraz has early exits in his prime years he will have accumulated less matches and mileage when firt step od decline will appear (29-30yo, 2nd step is 31-35 and terminal/metastatic decline is 36-37)
 
Nothing story. Just PR talk. He has nothing to lose but much to gain by propping up current players.

Doubtful he will reach even half of what Rafa achieved. But Borg isnt serious in these comments.
 
1-5-5-3, still falls short in 3/4 slams, and by 8 slams in the overall count and this is a good scenario. People will quickly realize how ridiculous 20+ is when these guys will struggle to reach PETE numbers
 
Racquet_smash said:
Who talked about asterisks?

Surpassing to me means being better, this comparison only exists to create media propaganda and nothing more since the two aren't even close to the same level. That is, assuming you watched tennis 15-20 years ago.
Click to expand...
It's about numbers. If Alcaraz wins 23 slams, he surpasses Nadal. It doesn't what you or others consider to be the bigger accomplishment based on quality of competition. The numbers would favor Alcaraz.

Two not being close to the same level in your mind doesn't matter or in my mind or any other fanboy, numbers are what matters. People use this same nonsense to diminish Djokovic's lead in the slam race because of the nonsensical "vulturing" narrative. None of that matters, he has 24 slam wins more than anybody else, period.

Now if you want to debate who had the highest level, best peak, sure. That's all fine and good for debate purposes but what isn't debatable is who is ahead in the slam race. If Alcaraz wins 23 slams, he accomplished more than Nadal in the slam race, competition need not apply.
 
Winner Sinner said:
Bjorn Borg firmly believes in the talent of Carlos Alcaraz, so much so that he has stated that the young man from Murcia will end his career with Nadal’s victories or even more. The Swedish tennis legend is in Barcelona, where his son Leo also tried (unsuccessfully) to reach the main draw of the ATP 500 that started yesterday in the Catalan city.

He obviously spent time with many of the players present, as shown by the various photos shared on social media. From Spain, a long chat with Tsitsipas is reported, then he cordially greeted the new Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz, a big favorite for the title in Barcelona too. Carlos and Bjorn spent some time together, talking about tennis and more.

Borg then released a short but significant statement to the Spanish TV network RTVE, responding clearly to a question about Carlos’ future. “I think Alcaraz will achieve the same results as Nadal, if not more,” Borg says sibylline. “He has the right mentality and can play his best tennis on all surfaces. With a bit of luck, he will become the king of tennis.”

At just 21 years old (he will turn 22 on May 5), Alcaraz already has 4 career Slam titles obtained on three different surfaces, and 18 titles overall. The road to reach Nadal at 92 titles and 22 Slam titles is still very long.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1911798196411437192
Click to expand...

I would have totally believed you if you hadn't put it all in bold.
 
M4tchP0int said:
Rafa lost his foot speed in 2017 and won 8 slams after with Federer and Djokovic around. Roger lost his right arm past 30yo with his new racket and won 3 slams. Novak had stamina issues past 30 yo and more loss of focus from one day to the other , one set to the other (End of third Set of WIM18 SF , 2nd set of USO 2023F , 4th set against in AO205 QF, 2nd set of RG23SF ,etc...) and he won 12 slams. Agassi , Wawrinka won more slams past 28 than before. Since alcaraz has early exits in his prime years he will have accumulated less matches and mileage when firt step od decline will appear (29-30yo, 2nd step is 31-35 and terminal/metastatic decline is 36-37)
Click to expand...
RAFA also had significantly better shot tolerance and selection and overall consistency. Not to mention all of the Big 3 were taller compared to Carl. We seen enough of his game to know that he’s more vulnerable than they were on the full stretch due to his much smaller frame. He’s 5’ 11 (180) and weighs 165 lbs (75kg) at max. He’s already had some pretty bad injuries which is in large part due to going full tilt in said smaller body.
 
Winner Sinner said:
Bjorn Borg firmly believes in the talent of Carlos Alcaraz, so much so that he has stated that the young man from Murcia will end his career with Nadal’s victories or even more. The Swedish tennis legend is in Barcelona, where his son Leo also tried (unsuccessfully) to reach the main draw of the ATP 500 that started yesterday in the Catalan city.

He obviously spent time with many of the players present, as shown by the various photos shared on social media. From Spain, a long chat with Tsitsipas is reported, then he cordially greeted the new Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz, a big favorite for the title in Barcelona too. Carlos and Bjorn spent some time together, talking about tennis and more.

Borg then released a short but significant statement to the Spanish TV network RTVE, responding clearly to a question about Carlos’ future. “I think Alcaraz will achieve the same results as Nadal, if not more,” Borg says sibylline. “He has the right mentality and can play his best tennis on all surfaces. With a bit of luck, he will become the king of tennis.”

At just 21 years old (he will turn 22 on May 5), Alcaraz already has 4 career Slam titles obtained on three different surfaces, and 18 titles overall. The road to reach Nadal at 92 titles and 22 Slam titles is still very long.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1911798196411437192
Click to expand...
Who's taller, tiny Carlos or giant Borg?
 
NYTennisfan said:
It's about numbers. If Alcaraz wins 23 slams, he surpasses Nadal. It doesn't what you or others consider to be the bigger accomplishment based on quality of competition. The numbers would favor Alcaraz.

Two not being close to the same level in your mind doesn't matter or in my mind or any other fanboy, numbers are what matters. People use this same nonsense to diminish Djokovic's lead in the slam race because of the nonsensical "vulturing" narrative. None of that matters, he has 24 slam wins more than anybody else, period.

Now if you want to debate who had the highest level, best peak, sure. That's all fine and good for debate purposes but what isn't debatable is who is ahead in the slam race. If Alcaraz wins 23 slams, he accomplished more than Nadal in the slam race, competition need not apply.
Click to expand...

Saying if Alcaraz has 23 slams "the numbers would favor Alcaraz" over Nadal is kind of a redundancy. It's like saying, "If he has 23 slams, then he will have more than Nadal because If he has 23 slams, then he will have more than Nadal."

I love Carlos' game and i'm a fan. But I can't imagine serious fans of tennis making numbers the crucial issue over Nadal if he gets there - except fans of Alcaraz. Everyone knows context matters. And everyone also likes who they like. Novak fans loved him when he had 15 slams and had all kinds of qualifiers why he was better than the rest. Federer fans are not fawning at Novak in droves now that he has the numbers. Same w Rafa fans. You see it every day here at TTW. It seems to me the biggest banner wavers of the numbers are always the biggest fans of the player who has the numbers.

So unless Sinner or others prove to be as epic as Fedovic, no one is going to miss that but the Carlos fandom or superficial fans.

They will always be able to say, "But Rafa had to face Fed and Novak". And they will be right. That will be a fact just as much as "23".

Fans just favor the facts that suit their case.
 
Winner Sinner said:
Bjorn Borg firmly believes in the talent of Carlos Alcaraz, so much so that he has stated that the young man from Murcia will end his career with Nadal’s victories or even more. The Swedish tennis legend is in Barcelona, where his son Leo also tried (unsuccessfully) to reach the main draw of the ATP 500 that started yesterday in the Catalan city.

He obviously spent time with many of the players present, as shown by the various photos shared on social media. From Spain, a long chat with Tsitsipas is reported, then he cordially greeted the new Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz, a big favorite for the title in Barcelona too. Carlos and Bjorn spent some time together, talking about tennis and more.

Borg then released a short but significant statement to the Spanish TV network RTVE, responding clearly to a question about Carlos’ future. “I think Alcaraz will achieve the same results as Nadal, if not more,” Borg says sibylline. “He has the right mentality and can play his best tennis on all surfaces. With a bit of luck, he will become the king of tennis.”

At just 21 years old (he will turn 22 on May 5), Alcaraz already has 4 career Slam titles obtained on three different surfaces, and 18 titles overall. The road to reach Nadal at 92 titles and 22 Slam titles is still very long.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1911798196411437192
Click to expand...
So Borg sees Nadal as the current GOAT then it seems. Quite clearly uses Nadal as the measuring stick.
 
Kralingen said:
Only if you coach him, Bjorn. Remove the cancer who is central to the rot in Alcaraz’s game and watch him blossom. When Ferrero is sacked, sky is the limit. Until that day, Sinner will reign.
Click to expand...
Alcaraz had won 4 Slams by the time he was barely 21. Even Nadal was only on 3 Slams at that age. I have no idea why you think he is sacking Ferrero unless he stops winning Slams. Lol.
 
Federev said:
Saying if Alcaraz has 23 slams "the numbers would favor Alcaraz" over Nadal is kind of a redundancy. It's like saying, "If he has 23 slams, then he will have more than Nadal because If he has 23 slams, then he will have more than Nadal."

I love Carlos' game and i'm a fan. But I can't imagine serious fans of tennis making numbers the crucial issue over Nadal if he gets there - except fans of Alcaraz. Everyone knows context matters. And everyone also likes who they like. Novak fans loved him when he had 15 slams and had all kinds of qualifiers why he was better than the rest. Federer fans are not fawning at Novak in droves now that he has the numbers. Same w Rafa fans. You see it every day here at TTW. It seems to me the biggest banner wavers of the numbers are always the biggest fans of the player who has the numbers.

So unless Sinner or others prove to be as epic as Fedovic, no one is going to miss that but the Carlos fandom or superficial fans.

They will always be able to say, "But Rafa had to face Fed and Novak". And they will be right. That will be a fact just as much as "23".

Fans just favor the facts that suit their case.
Click to expand...
Ok, so let me understand this then. Djokovic's 24 means less than Nadal's 22 and Federer's 20 because a bigger chunk of his occurred in the post-Federer and prime Nadal era?

The bottom line is that, in this case, Djokovic has 24 slams to their 22 and 20 respectively and, therefore, the FACTS are that he has accomplished more Slam wins. The OPINION is that he vultured some of them in this weaker era. History doesn't frown on Djokovic's accomplishment because it occurred in a weaker era, fans do stuff like that which is fine because it elicits debate but those are just subjective opinions.
TBH, you can pick and choose anything to diminish an accomplishment or add "context", "Federer won most of his slams before prime Djokovic and Nadal and post-PETE" "Nadal vultured off of Clay titles" "Djokovic vultured in weak era" I'm not a Djokovic fan btw, I'm saying this as an objective fan. Anybody can just nitpick an accomplishment to suit their narrative but the reality is that the numbers are the facts, those cannot be changed or manipulated, they are the reality.
 
LOL dude can barely get through Monte Carlo against gassed second tier players and can’t even win HC titles. He has as much of a chance catching Nadal as I do. Agassi or Borg is Carlos ceiling

Sinner is the only guy with a legit chance of getting close to Big 3 territory and that’s a big IF he starts collecting clay and grass titles this year. But he is the only one consistent enough to do it. But He can’t catch them just dominating hards.

Realistically no one will ever catch the big 3. I would probably give sinner maybe 14 slams like Sampras and alcaraz 8 or 9
 
NYTennisfan said:
Ok, so let me understand this then. Djokovic's 24 means less than Nadal's 22 and Federer's 20 because a bigger chunk of his occurred in the post-Federer and prime Nadal era?

The bottom line is that, in this case, Djokovic has 24 slams to their 22 and 20 respectively and, therefore, the FACTS are that he has accomplished more Slam wins. The OPINION is that he vultured some of them in this weaker era. History doesn't frown on Djokovic's accomplishment because it occurred in a weaker era, fans do stuff like that which is fine because it elicits debate but those are just subjective opinions.
TBH, you can pick and choose anything to diminish an accomplishment or add "context", "Federer won most of his slams before prime Djokovic and Nadal and post-PETE" "Nadal vultured off of Clay titles" "Djokovic vultured in weak era" I'm not a Djokovic fan btw, I'm saying this as an objective fan. Anybody can just nitpick an accomplishment to suit their narrative but the reality is that the numbers are the facts, those cannot be changed or manipulated, they are the reality.
Click to expand...
Is this about Carlos or Novak for you?

If it's about Novak, then it kind of proves my point. No one is saying 24 s less than 22 or 20.

As I said above:

"the biggest banner wavers of the numbers are always the biggest fans of the player who has the numbers"

"Everyone knows context matters. And everyone also likes who they like. Novak fans loved him when he had 15 slams and had all kinds of qualifiers why he was better than the rest. Federer fans are not fawning at Novak in droves now that he has the numbers. Same w Rafa fans. You see it every day here at TTW. It seems to me the biggest banner wavers of the numbers are always the biggest fans of the player who has the numbers.

...Fans just favor the facts that suit their case."
 
Federev said:
Is this about Carlos or Novak for you?

If it's about Novak, then it kind of proves my point. No one is saying 24 s less than 22 or 20.

As I said above:

"the biggest banner wavers of the numbers are always the biggest fans of the player who has the numbers"

"Everyone knows context matters. And everyone also likes who they like. Novak fans loved him when he had 15 slams and had all kinds of qualifiers why he was better than the rest. Federer fans are not fawning at Novak in droves now that he has the numbers. Same w Rafa fans. You see it every day here at TTW. It seems to me the biggest banner wavers of the numbers are always the biggest fans of the player who has the numbers.

...Fans just favor the facts that suit their case."
Click to expand...
I actually think fans favor their opinions to deny the facts like with the quotes I posted above regarding vulturing etc.

Hell, even as an Alcaraz fan I've made comments that Sinner had easier paths to his last two slam wins but it doesn't change the fact those 2 slam wins won't be put into a different context because Alcaraz and Djokovic didn't make it to him in the 2nd week of those slams. It's 2 slam wins in the books and that's that, his 2 slams don't come with qualifiers or context. I mean, historically there's no difference between his 2024 USO finals win over Fritz and Nadal's 2008 Wimbledon finals win over Federer. That's a slam win either way, the quality of it is fan opinion. That's what I'm saying, those are the numbers and those are what matter historically especially when making Modern Era comparisons. I think more context can be added when you're comparing the older era guys to modern era because the tour, racquets and conditioning is completely different now.
 
He is playing in the weakest era in history, so everything comes with an asterisk. Especially if we remember that a 38 years old is very tough competition for him.
 
NYTennisfan said:
I actually think fans favor their opinions to deny the facts like with the quotes I posted above regarding vulturing etc.

Hell, even as an Alcaraz fan I've made comments that Sinner had easier paths to his last two slam wins but it doesn't change the fact those 2 slam wins won't be put into a different context because Alcaraz and Djokovic didn't make it to him in the 2nd week of those slams. It's 2 slam wins in the books and that's that, his 2 slams don't come with qualifiers or context. I mean, historically there's no difference between his 2024 USO finals win over Fritz and Nadal's 2008 Wimbledon finals win over Federer. That's a slam win either way, the quality of it is fan opinion. That's what I'm saying, those are the numbers and those are what matter historically especially when making Modern Era comparisons. I think more context can be added when you're comparing the older era guys to modern era because the tour, racquets and conditioning is completely different now.
Click to expand...

"it doesn't change the fact those 2 slam wins won't be put into a different context because Alcaraz and Djokovic didn't make it to him in the 2nd week of those slams"

Won't be put in a different context by who?

Everyone chooses whether to bring more or less context according to their own perspectives and favorites.

If you're saying that doesn't change the fact that he won those 2 slams, of course it doesn't.

Who is arguing that?
 
At the moment, the only categories where Alcaraz is ahead of where Nadal was at the same age are number of majors (4 to 3) and number of Wimbledons (2 to 0). By February 2009, when Nadal was age 22 years and 8 months, Nadal had 6 majors, so will Alcaraz still be ahead in major total at their equivalent ages after the 2026 Australian Open?
 
Mustard said:
At the moment, the only categories where Alcaraz is ahead of where Nadal was at the same age are number of majors (4 to 3) and number of Wimbledons (2 to 0). By February 2009, when Nadal was age 22 years and 8 months, Nadal had 6 majors, so will Alcaraz still be ahead in major total at their equivalent ages after the 2026 Australian Open?
Click to expand...
Soon raz will be ahead of Nadal on indoors hc.
 
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