Top 10 men with fewest matches to 100 ATP wins: Carlos Alcaraz joins the list, but does the Big Three feature?

ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz in action

Carlos Alcaraz racked up his 100th professional win at the Indian Wells Open and he naturally entered the top 10 for players with the fewest matches to 100 ATP wins, but surprisingly one member of the Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer doesn’t feature in the top 10.

The 19-year-old Alcaraz defeated Tallon Griekspoor in the third round of the Indian Wells Open on Monday and he recorded his 100th top-level win in the process in only his 132nd match.

It was yet another feat in the long list of achievements by the teenager – who also became the first teenager to be ranked No 1 in the world last year – although his latest milestone saw him just miss out on top spot in the list of fewest matches to 100 ATP wins.

Interestingly, though, 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer misses out on the top 10 as his 100th win came in his 169th match, but fellow Big Three members Djokovic and Nadal make the cut.

Top 10 men with fewest matches to 100 ATP wins

10. Novak Djokovic – 143 games (100-43)

Reigning world No 1 Djokovic secured his 100th top-level win four years after he turned professional as he reached the milestone during a first-round win over Pablo Andújar at the 2007 Croatia Open.

He has, of course, gone on to win more than 1,000 matches in his career and he currently sits third in the list of most match wins in the Open Era.

10. Juan Carlos Ferrero – 143 matches (100-43)

Former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who currently coaches Alcaraz, is joint-10th with Djokovic and he achieved the feat in Gstaad in 2001, defeating Arnaud di Pasquale in the first round.

The Spaniard would win “only” 379 more matches as he retired with a record of 479–262.

8. Andy Roddick – 141 matches (100-41)

American Andy Roddick notched up his 100th win against his compatriot James Blake during the second round of the Swiss Indoors in 2002.

When he hung up his racket in 2012, he had a record of 612–213 and 32 titles.

7. Boris Becker – 140 matches (100-40)

By the time Boris Becker claimed his 100th career win, he was already a Grand Slam winner as he won Wimbledon in 1985. His milestone came a year later at the same event when he defeated Henri Leconte in the semi-final before going on to win match No 101 in the final.

Becker won 49 singles titles in total – six of them Grand Slams – and finished with a win-loss record of 713–214.

Boris Becker Wimbledon champion

5. Mats Wilander – 138 matches (100-38)

Swede Mats Wilander was also a Grand Slam winner by the time he notched up win 100 against Sergio Casal in the final at Aix-en-Provence in 1983 to win his seventh singles title.

He would finish his career with 33 titles – including seven majors – and had a win-loss record of 571–222 when he packed it in in 1996.

5. Jimmy Connors – 138 matches (100-38)

Jimmy Connors was the original No 1 on the list as he achieved his feat in London in 1972 when he defeated Ian Fletcher and he would take another two years before he would win his maiden Grand Slam at the 1974 Australian Open.

The American retired with eight majors to his name, but he set numerous records as he holds the record for most singles titles won in the Open Era with 109.

He has also won the most matches (1,274) and played the most matches (1,557) with his career tally 1274–283.

4. Rafael Nadal – 137 matches (100-37)

The Spanish wunderkind won his first ATP at the age of 15 years and 10 months in April 2002 and three years later he would secure his 100th win in the first round in Stuttgart against Hugo Armando.

The 100th-win milestone came just a few months after he won his maiden Grand Slam, the French Open, and nearly 18 years later he is still going strong, well strong plus a few injuries here and there.

Nadal currently sits on 1,068-career match wins, 92 singles titles and 22 Grand Slams.

3. Andre Agassi – 135 matches (100-35)

Alcaraz’s entry meant Andre Agassi was bumped off No 2 as he took three more games than the Spaniard to get to 100 match wins.

Win No 100 came against Dan Goldie in Philadelphia in 1989 – before Alcaraz was born.

The Las Vegas kid went on to win another 770 matches for a career record of 870–274 with 69 titles, including eight Grand Slams.

2. Carlos Alcaraz – 132 matches (100-32)

It is staggering to think that Carlos Alcaraz only made his ATP Tour debut in Barcelona in 2019 with his first win coming in Rio the following year.

Fast forward to 2023 and he has 100 wins from his 132 matches after beating Tallon Griekspoor in Indian Wells.

Alcaraz, of course, achieved the feat after winning his first Grand Slam and topping the ATP Rankings as he won the 2022 US Open and became world No 1 after his Flushing Meadows success.

1. John McEnroe – 131 matches (100-31)

American great John McEnroe remains out on his own as the No 1 in terms of fewest games to 100 top-level wins.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner achieved the feat against Karl Meller in Bologna in 1978 and he would go on to win another 783 matches and 77 singles titles.

For now his record is safe as none of those who have made their breakthrough are likely to touch it.

READ MORE: Top 10 men’s title winners in the Open Era: Novak Djokovic moves ahead of Rafael Nadal and closer to 100th title

Andre Agassi Carlos Alcaraz John McEnroe Rafael Nadal

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