Carlos Alcaraz is a champion on grass and back at world No 1. Of the two achievements, only one of them was beyond the expectations of a player who has risen so quickly and so suddenly to the top of the game. The top spot in the rankings had already been accomplished by the age of 19, but just a few days ago the idea of claiming a title on grass appeared to be years away. The Spaniard arrived at Queen’s looking to find his feet; he leaves as the champion and the top seed for Wimbledon. Maybe Novak Djokovic has some competition after all.
“Right now I feel one of the favourites to win Wimbledon,” Alcaraz smiled. Winning Queen’s has had a transformative effect on his confidence ahead of the grand slam. A first grass-court title in only his third tournament on the surface stands as one of the most memorable of his young career.
“To come here with not a lot of confidence and see myself playing at a high level is special for me,” he said. “And obviously I see Wimbledon as the most beautiful tournament on the tour. It’s a tournament that I really wanted to win someday. Preparing for Wimbledon as I did this week is so special for me, and I have a lot of confidence to make that dream possible this year.”
The manner in which Alcaraz closed out his 6-4 6-4 victory over Alex de Minaur in the Queen’s final was in keeping with his impressive and considered progression through the tournament. Under a searing 30C in west London, Alcaraz continued the theme of adding another weapon to his arsenal match-by-match by finding his best serving of the tournament. As he served for the championship and faced 0-30 after a nervy forehand drifted long of the baseline, Alcaraz replied with an ace and a series of tricky kick serves that De Minaur could not return. After unlocking his movement on the grass and then finding the power behind his forehand, it completed the set of tools which will make him so hard to stop in SW19. Alcaraz finished with seven aces and won both break points he faced.
“The serve today was a really helpful weapon for me,” Alcaraz said. “I think I saved a lot of tough moments thanks to the serve. It’s something that I worked on a lot during the past months and obviously coming to the grass it’s something that I work on more than probably other shots. But yeah, I consider myself a good player on grass with all the weapons that I have.”
De Minaur had looked to take away Alcaraz’s best shots with the subtlety of his spin. The Australian arguably had the better of the opening exchanges and set up the first break point of the match as he chased down an Alcaraz drop shot and flicked a sublime backhand pass. Alcaraz remained level in a tight opening set behind his serve, saving break point with a thunderous 137mph ace out wide.
Alcaraz then edged ahead as he gradually adapted to De Minaur’s devious backhand slice and enjoyed greater success on his approaches into the net. He broke De Minaur’s serve late in the first set after a loose couple of points from the 24-year-old, with Alcaraz finishing strongly as he whacked a forehand winner and slammed down another ace to take the opener.
Alcaraz, right, had too much for De Minaur in the Queen’s final— (Getty)
It was a set where Alcaraz grew in confidence from the opening game – a symbol of his week at Queen’s – but any notion that he was about to run away with the final were dismissed as he called a medical timeout and emerged from the changeover with significant strapping on his right leg. It was a concerning sight ahead of Wimbledon but Alcaraz remained untroubled, even if his service speed dropped in the first few games of the second. It brought a brief resurgence from De Minaur, as well as the shot of the tournament: a pick-up volley that bounced on Alcaraz’s side and spun backwards over the net. De Minaur continued to make too many errors, however, and a couple of costly double faults, including one on break point, saw Alcaraz take the lead in the second set.
Alcaraz was clinical, taking both break point chances he faced, and was too good for De Minaur, a player who has been in impressive form since defeating Andy Murray in the first round. The Australian’s natural grass court game and flat hitting appeared to give him the advantage over Alcaraz, but the Spaniard rose to the challenge to neutralise it.
“I think anyone that wins Queen’s is in pretty good shape come Wimbledon,” De Minaur said. “I think obviously he’s shown throughout the week how he’s able to adapt and play a lot better throughout the week. He’s been able to adapt his game style a little bit more. He’s always had great hands, so he’s looking to be aggressive. And I think he’s hiding his backhand quite well with his slice. Then obviously the forehand, when he’s got a lot of time, he can hurt you basically from anywhere.”
Alcaraz’s serve, De Minaur added, was the “underrated” part of his game. “I think today in big points he was able to come up with big first serves and it got him out of trouble,” the Australian said. “137, 138. You can only say too good.”
It was a message that will ring clear ahead of the return to the All England Club next week: watch out Wimbledon, Alcaraz has arrived.
