Carlos Alcaraz won the final of the Queen’s ATP 500 tournament on Sunday in London. The Spaniard beat Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4 in the final, a victory that allows him to become world number one again. Eight days before the start of Wimbledon, Alcaraz, 20, won his first trophy on grass, for only his third tournament on this surface. The Spaniard is thus guaranteed to return to the standings on Monday ahead of the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who had recovered the world throne earlier this month thanks to his final victory at Roland Garros, his 23rd Grand Slam title.
“It means a lot”
In particular, he succeeds a certain Rafael Nadal, winner in 2008 in this tournament, just before his first triumph at Wimbledon after a legendary final in five sets against Roger Federer. “It means a lot to have my name on this trophy,” admitted the player after the game. “It helps me a lot to arrive at Wimbledon as world number one, for me it’s incredible,” he also admitted.
In the final, facing the 18th player in the world, much more accustomed to the surface than him since he won the Eastbourne tournament in 2021, Alcaraz was very comfortable, especially on the fly, winning 67% of the points at the net. “I didn’t start the tournament very well. I had to adapt my movements on the grass, but it was an incredible week, with a lot of energy and quality,” he said.
No feelings
His seven aces, against one for his opponent, were often precious, like the one who erased the first break point of the match in the 8th game of the first set. De Minaur, he cracked at the worst time. At 4-4 and 30-30, after an excellent first ball, he sent a two-handed backhand near the net in the middle of the corridor, before conceding the break on a forehand too long (5-3).
It was again on an ace, on his second set point, that Alcaraz won the first set. The London public held their breath when a physio appeared at the time to massage and strap the Spaniard’s right thigh, the one that betrayed him against ‘Djoko’ in Paris. And De Minaur, with his excellent footwork and delicious touch, gave him a lot of trouble. But in vain.
“Excellent week”
“It’s been a great week for me. We were close to each other, but I couldn’t get the upper hand today. (Carlos was) too good,” conceded the Australian. At 1-1 in the second set, his magnificent retro drop shot in extension forced the admiration of Alcaraz to the point that he reached out to type in his opponent’s.
But when an opening presented itself to redo the hole, he did not feel. At 2-2, 30-30, de Minaur chained an unforced error and a double fault, opening the way to success for the Spaniard. With authority and power, like this incredible forehand slap at 6-4, 4-2, clocked at 171 km / h when the ball was almost stationary. There was a bit of a 0-30 scare when he served for the match, but Alcaraz racked up four points to become the first Under-21 player to win his first grass-court final since Richard Gasquet against Max Mirnyi, in Nottingham in 2005.
Eight days before the start of Wimbledon, Alcaraz, 20, won his first trophy on grass, for only his third tournament on this surface. The Spaniard is thus guaranteed to return to the standings ahead of the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who had recovered the world throne earlier this month thanks to his final victory at Roland Garros, his 23rd Grand Slam title.