Carlos Alcaraz, the new sensation in men’s tennis, proved his mettle on the lush green surface at the Queen’s Club Championships by beating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals on Thursday. Alcaraz, currently ranked No. 2 and the top-seeded player in west London, is participating in the Wimbledon warm-up event for the first time. These are his first professional matches on grass outside the All England Club, where he will head next month seeking his second Grand Slam title after winning the US Open last year.
Alcaraz stated that his expectations on grass “are going to change” given the way he dispatched Lehecka, who entered the tournament at a career-high ranking of No. 36. The Spaniard said he has been taking inspiration from Roger Federer and Andy Murray as he makes the transition from clay to grass. Federer won eight titles at Wimbledon while Murray won two of his three Slams at the grass-court championships. To ready himself for this year’s charge, Alcaraz has been studying the duo. “You know, right now we are on grass, and I want to, you know, look up to the best players on grass and movers. You know, on grass, Roger and Andy for me are the best players that are moving great on grass. So I want to be the same,” he said.
Alcaraz was sure-footed against Lehecka on Thursday, bar one first-set slip, as he prioritized his focus on movement. “Moving on grass, as I said a few times, for me, is the key of everything on grass. You know, is the key if you are playing good or not,” Alcaraz said. “You have to be more focused, you know, on the footwork here. Talking [for] me, I can’t slide as I do on clay or on hard court, so you have to know that and, you know, practicing from that part, you have to adapt your moves [and how you] hit on grass.”
After a first set in which Alcaraz didn’t face a break point, mistakes started to creep into both players’ games in the second set — there were 41 unforced errors between them overall in the match — but Alcaraz’s defense and coverage at the net impressed as he wrapped up victory in 1 hour, 25 minutes on his third match point when Lehecka hit a forehand long.
It took Alcaraz more than 2½ hours and three sets containing two tiebreakers to see off Arthur Rinderknech of France in the first round. “I feel really comfortable here on grass,” Alcaraz said. “I’m happy getting experience on grass. Knowing I have this level, I’m really happy about it.”
Alcaraz will next play qualifier Grigor Dimitrov, the 2014 champion who beat eighth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-5.
In other matches, Adrian Mannarino of France, who recently beat Daniil Medvedev last week in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, used his accurate first serve to set up a meeting with Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals. Mannarino ousted third-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (7) while drawing gasps and applause with a no-look volley winner, as well as a tweener and a shot behind his back in the same point. Fritz saved three match points in the tiebreaker but double-faulted on the fourth. De Minaur of Australia defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2 in barely an hour.
Alcaraz’s victory in the Queen’s Club Championships signals the emergence of a new star in men’s tennis who is capable of adapting his style to different surfaces. His impressive performance on grass and his meticulous preparation for the surface using Federer and Murray as inspiration bodes well for his upcoming campaign at Wimbledon. With his sights set on adding to his Grand Slam tally, Alcaraz’s journey on grass has begun in earnest.
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