"Rafael Nadal & Bjorn Borg are grand masters of clay... Next in line will be Carlos Alcaraz": Paul McNamee backs 20-year-old for French Open glory

Paul McNamee has hailed Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg as the ultimate clay specialists while also opining that Carlos Alcaraz would soon reach Nadal and Borg's level on the surface. The Aussie also tipped the 20-year-old to win the French Open this year.

Nadal, who is fondly referred to as the 'King of Clay', holds several records that reflect his dominance on the surface. The Spaniard has won an astounding 63 clay court titles, which include a record 14 French Open triumphs. He also has a 63-8 win-loss record across all the clay court finals that he has featured in.

Borg, who was one of the most feared men's tennis players in the 1970s and early 1980s, won six French Open titles. The Swede is second only to Nadal in terms of his win-loss record at the clay court Major, having won 49 of his matches at Roland Garros only two.

Alcaraz, who is still only a 20-year-old, has already shown that the red dirt is the surface that suits his aggressive, tenacious style of play the best. The two-time Grand Slam winner is yet to win the French Open, the most coveted clay court prize. However, he has already won several prestigious tournaments on the surface, which include the Madrid Open and the Barcelona Open.

Recently, McNamee compared tennis on clay to chess and called Nadal and Borg the "grand masters" of the surface. He also offered a simplified comparison between tennis on clay and hard courts.

"Rafa and Bjorn Borg are the two grand masters, we can call them, of chess, because clay is chess at the end of the day. Hard court is draught, so they're different games. One is linear and one is angular. One has nuances, one does not. So, a clay court is a chess board," McNamee said on an episode of The AO Show podcast.

The former ATP doubles No. 1 also singled out Carlos Alcaraz for praise due to his prowess on clay, and also predicted him to win the French Open unless "something amazing happened".

"So, the grand masters are Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg. Next in line will be Carlos Alcaraz. It was almost a miracle he didn't win the French last year and he will win it this year unless something amazing happens. I mean, he's that good, this guy, on clay, right. This guy is the real deal," McNamee added.

Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal both qualify for the fourth round of the Madrid Open

The two Spaniards at the Netflix Slam

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are the only two Spaniards who have qualified for the fourth round of the Madrid Open.

Both players had contrasting wins in their respective third-round matches, with Alcaraz comfortably beating Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 6-3 while Nadal had to overcome Pedro Cachin 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 in three hours and six minutes.

The 37-year-old will next take on 30th seed Jiri Lehecka in the Round of 16, with the winner facing either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals.

Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, will be up against 23rd seed Jan-Lennard Struff in what will be a rematch of the 2023 Madrid Open final. Whoever comes out on top, will be up against either seventh seed Andrey Rublev or 24th seed Tallon Griekspoor.