Boris Becker delights over Carlos Alcaraz meeting Lionel Messi at Laureus Awards 2023

Boris Becker was delighted to see Carlos Alcaraz meet star footballer Lionel Messi at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards.

Alcaraz won the 2023 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award. He was nominated alongside other athletes like Elena Rybakina, the Morocco men's football team, figure skater Nathan Chen, golfer Scottie Scheffler, and track & field athlete Tobi Amusan.

Lionel Messi, meanwhile, was crowned the 2023 Laureus Sportsman of the Year, a well-deserved recognition for his outstanding performance in 2022. He led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory in Qatar.

At the forefront of Argentina's triumph in Qatar, Messi played a captain's role, scoring seven goals, including a brace in the final, and providing three assists. His performance also earned him the coveted Golden Ball award.

Messi faced stiff competition from other nominees, including his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe, pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, F1 champion Max Verstappen, tennis legend Rafael Nadal, and basketball superstar Stephen Curry. However, Messi's achievements with Argentina proved to be the deciding factor.

On Monday, May 8, German tennis legend, Boris Becker, took to social media to express his happiness after witnessing Carlos Alcaraz and Lionel Messi together on the red carpet at the Laureus World Sports Awards.

Becker praised both athletes, referring to them as greats, and emphasized that only greatness can recognize greatness.

"Greatness recognises Greatness," Becker captioned his Instagram story.

Boris Becker's Instagram story

Carlos Alcaraz set to reclaim the World No. 1 spot from Novak Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic at the 2022 Madrid Open

Carlos Alcaraz, the current World No. 2, recently secured his fourth title of the 2023 ATP season by defeating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the final of the Madrid Open. The win brought the Spaniard one step closer to the top spot, as he closed the gap on World No. 1, Novak Djokovic to a mere five points.

Alcaraz's return to the top spot is almost guaranteed, as the 20-year-old only needs to participate in a single match at the 2023 Italian Open to surpass Djokovic. The outcome of the match is irrelevant.

Alcaraz has 6770 points as compared to Djokovic’s 6775. After receiving a first-round bye, all he has to do is play his second-round match to get the 10 points that will make him World No. 1 come May 22.

Even if Djokovic manages to defend his title at the Italian Open, Alcaraz will still hold the top seed at the 2023 French Open.