Carlos Alcaraz wins at Queen’s and returns to the top of world tennis

Neither Rafael Nadal, nor Roger Federer, nor Novak Djokovic have reached the title on grass so quickly. Carlos Alcaraz. No one could have predicted the speed with which the Murcian would become an expert on surfaces, but this boy from Murcia, who defeated Alex de Miñaur in the Queen’s final (6-4 and 6-4)He is a master of everything he touches.

With perhaps a little more nerves than in previous days, Alcaraz finished his warm-up on one of the London club’s training tracks and went to the locker room to complete his tune-up. Nerves were logical, Alcaraz grew up surrounded by tennis and knows the history of grass, its myths and legends and its weight.

“I want to write my name here,” he said at the beginning of the tournament, although he forgot that he was not among the favorites and that it would be logical for him to lose soon. But if the best have one thing, it’s that they can defy logic with astonishing ease. In seven days, which is a record time, Alcaraz went from a beginner on the surface to an expert. He went from contender to a small group of Wimbledon favourites. A group that includes… and Novak Djokovic, whom he also dethroned with his triumph at Queen’s as world number one.

Alex de Minaur, one of the many tennis players who grew up with the desire to be the best and succeed the big three it was the last hurdle on a sunny London afternoon. He Australian, with a Spanish background, is a roadrunner, a sprinter who goes from one side of the track to the other and does not give the ball for dead, but suffers for the winning shot. His serve has been working perfectly all week and his opponents have been dropping one by one like flies, but Alcaraz is a different ball.

That doesn’t mean Murcian didn’t have to suffer. Quite the opposite. De Minaur has stood the test of eight games in fantastic form, pushing the Spaniard and looking the favourite. It was he who had the first two break balls that Alcaraz defended to the limit, one with a direct shot, and the other with three shots along the line. It was necessary to take a risk and take a step forward and, when Alcaraz found himself up to his neck in water, he surfaced again.

The suffering was followed by a blow to the chin from the Australian, who conceded at the first opportunity he had. Alcaraz, like great champions, doesn’t need a thousand chances, just one to kill you. As he did not yet have time to take advantage of those wasted chances, De Miñaur changed sides of the court with the first set lost.

And a glimmer of light dawned on him, Alcaraz asked his physical therapist to leave, because of a problem on the inside of his right thigh. Bandage and alarm, the injury against Novak Djokovic in Paris was very fresh.

Fortunately, there was fear and hostilities continued. Alcaraz, strong from below; The Australian is trying to do more things, change his repertoire. He left a memory of the great Manolo Santana and his Gillettewith a return volley into the net that earned him a high five with Alcaraz. However, the decoration was not enough to appease the Spaniard, who once again needed only one chance to settle the match.

And he didn’t even have to do anything. De Minaur made a double fault with a point break against and 2-2 and delivered the service and the match.

Seems like one of the favorites

Carlos Alcaraz himself assured how he looks “one of the favorites” for Wimbledon, where he will make his debut on July 4, though he qualified that he needed “more experience.” “If I go without expectations, I can win it,” Murcian joked at a press conference, paraphrasing what he said at the start of the tournament, when he didn’t see himself as one of the favorites.

“Now I can be very confident. I feel like one of the favorites for Wimbledon, but honestly, I need more experience, I played only eleven matches on grass »added the Spaniard.

“I consider myself a good player on grass, with all the weapons I have. I’m going to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence. I saw the statistics that Novak won more games than the other 20 favorites. He is an excellent candidate. I have to do my best to have a chance,” Murcian replied.

The fourth Spaniard to win at Queen’s

Alcaraz became the fourth Spaniard to win at Queen’s this Sunday; before Andrés Gimeno (1960), Rafael Nadal (2008) and Feliciano López (2017 and 2019) did it. While Djokovic took six years, Federer four and Nadal five to win his first title on grass, Alcaraz took two years and eleven matches to rule on the hardest surface of all.