Photo Source: TTV
The transition from clay to grass is one of the most difficult to make in the sport of tennis.
For Carlos Alcaraz, it appears to be a breeze. Two weeks after winning the Roland-Garros title in dramatic fashion on the Parisian clay, the 22-year-old was looking right at home on the crisply manicured lawns of the Queen’s Club in London, where he stormed to the title on Sunday with a 7-5 6-7(5) 6-2 victory over Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic.
“Honestly it feels great, it has been a really positive and incredible week,” Alcaraz said on court after the final. “Doing it here in Queen’s, I think it’s a little bit special, for the second time in my career.”
Alcaraz, who claimed his second title in three years at Queen’s, records his 21st title overall, and his fourth on grass.
He wasn’t exactly banking on it at the start of the week.
“It is a week that I didn’t have expectations at all, honestly I came here just to try to feel more comfortable on grass, getting used to it, and to end up getting the trophy, it's a special moment for me and my team,” Alcaraz said after the win.
Alcaraz displayed his superiority in a deciding set against Lehecka, resetting after dropping the middle set in a tight tiebreak. It was the type of moment that could have represented a colossal momentum shift in the match, but Alcaraz used his poise and experience to reclaim authority early in the third set. He broke for 3-1 in the final set and never looked back, as he capped off a magnificent serving performance with 18 aces and zero break points faced.
“It was a tough moment,” Alcaraz said of the conclusion of the second set. “[Leading] 5-4 in the tiebreak, then making a double-fault. I was serving pretty well until that moment. It was difficult, honestly, because I felt like I was controlling the match, and that second set could have been an extra boost for him coming into the third set.
“I tried to stay positive, stay calm and think clearly: okay it is a third set, let’s reset my mind and start from zero and keep it going.”
Alcaraz improves his lifetime grass-court record to a sterling 29-3, and stretches his career-best winning streak to 18. The World No.2 has not lost since falling to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final on April 20th.
The Spaniard is the 12th player to record multiple titles at Queen’s Club, and the fifth active player to have notched at least four grass-court titles.
Lehecka was bidding to become the first Czech champion at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl in 1990. He defeated second-seeded Jack Draper in Saturday’s semifinal, but could not get over the hump against the world-beating Spaniard on Sunday.
“Tough for me to find words, but of course I’m super happy that I had a chance to fight for the title today,” Lehecka said. “I gave everything I had today, fortunately it was not enough.”