Alcaraz wins Queen’s to announce his arrival on grass and return to No. 1 in the world

Carlos Alcaraz announced his official arrival as a grass-court player by lifting the Queen’s trophy, defeating Alex De Minaur 6-4, 6-4 in the final and returning to world No. 1 in the process.

A week that started with a hard-fought win over Arthur Rinderknech – during which Alcaraz frequently looked uncertain of his footing and positioning on the grass – has ended in the precocious young Spaniard having fully mastered a surface he has only played three tournaments on.

Landmark title for Carlos Alcaraz

This win is much more significant than simply another ATP 500 title for the 20-year-old. It is a clear statement of intent for his title credentials at Wimbledon, as well as a resounding declaration of his ability to play on a surface that many others struggle on.

“It means a lot to me. Being able to win this amazing tournament in my first time that I played here for me is fantastic,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.

“To know that I’m [capable of] a good level on grass, obviously [to be] champion of every tournament feels special.”

Prior to Queen’s this year, Alcaraz had only played two grass-court tournaments in his career – both at Wimbledon.

Despite showing promise in a run to the fourth round of SW19 last year, the sensational Spaniard had yet to showcase the scintillating brand of tennis on the unique conditions of grass courts that he has displayed across hard and clay surfaces.

Queen’s this year was therefore a litmus test for Alcaraz, to test the waters before embarking on another campaign to win his second Grand Slam title.

Queen’s provides the lessons Alcaraz needed to learn

His title run began in ominous circumstances, as he struggled to get the better of Rinderknech – a tricky opponent, but one who Alcaraz would be firm favourite against on any other surface.

During that opening round win, the US Open champion was visibly struggling with his movement on the surface, the inability to slide into his groundstrokes being the biggest factor.

However, Alcaraz did what great champions do – he found a way to get over the line when not playing or feeling his best.

Taking all the lessons from that match, Alcaraz learnt astonishingly quickly. His first round self was barely recognisable in the succeeding four matches at the tournament, as he got ever stronger as the week went on.

By Sunday, Alcaraz was playing as well on the green grass of West London as he ever has on clay or hard courts. Put simply, he unstoppable.

A closely contested final

De Minaur put up a spirited fight in the final, using his blistering pace to chase down the Spaniard’s drop shots and apply pressure himself by attacking the net.

The first set was a tightly-contested affair, with both players holding serve confidently until a lengthy eighth game in which Alcaraz was forced to save two break points to hold serve.

The Spaniard then used the momentum of that hold as a springboard to apply instant pressure in the next game.

At 30-30 on his serve, a wild backhand from De Minaur opened the door for Alcaraz, who didn’t need to be asked twice as he forced the breakthrough to take the only break point he earned in the set.

The only real area of concern for Alcaraz was a medical time-out to receive strapping on his right leg between the first and second set.

If there was a physical issue, though, it did not hamper his game in any way. Another even set was won by Alcaraz after a double-fault from his Australian opponent in the fifth game handed complete control to the Spaniard.

Alcaraz served out the match with little trouble to win the first grass-court title of his career. In doing so, he also returned to world No. 1 and sent a clear message to his grass-court rivals.

Alcaraz turns attention to Wimbledon

It was telling that the first name on Alcaraz’s mind in the aftermath of his win was Novak Djokovic.

“The chances don’t change so much. I mean, Novak is coming to Wimbledon,” Alcaraz said. “Right now I’m feeling better than the beginning of the week, that’s obvious.

“Of course, recovering the No. 1 before Wimbledon, it gives you extra motivation, it gives you extra confidence coming into Wimbledon. But it doesn’t change too much if I play Wimbledon as the No. 2 or the No. 1.”

While he was quick to downplay the significance of returning to the top spot, the symbolic importance of this will not have been lost on Alcaraz.

Djokovic will open play on Centre Court in just over one week’s time as the four-time defending champion.

But just as at Roland-Garros last month, Carlos Alcaraz will be lurking in the other half of the draw as the world No. 1.

Moreover, he is a world No. 1 who has just proved that he is every bit as dangerous on grass as he is anywhere else.

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