Carlos Alcaraz regains his Queen's crown after beating Jiri Lehecka in final
The Spanish top seed replicated his debut triumph on the grass courts of west London in 2023 with a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory.
It was an 18th-straight match win for Alcaraz – in his fifth consecutive final – following his title successes in Rome and at the French Open.
World number 30 Lehecka had knocked out home hope Jack Draper on Saturday to become the first Czech finalist since Ivan Lendl won the title in 1990.
The 23-year-old played his part in a high-quality final with some huge serves and powerful groundstrokes, forcing the match to a decider via a tie-break.
But Alcaraz, the defending Wimbledon champion, did not face a single break point and slammed down 18 aces on his way to a 21st career title, proving he will be the man to beat at SW19 again with a stylish win in two hours and eight minutes.
'It's really special, this trophy and this tournament. I'm happy to lift this trophy once again,' he said.
'Jiri, you had an incredible week and it's a nightmare to play against you. Great week, great job and keep it up for Wimbledon.
'It has been an incredible week. I came without expectations and just wanted to play good tennis and to get used to the grass.'
Alcaraz got a first look at a break point at 2-2, but he barely saw the 138mph ace that snuffed it out.
Jiri Lehecka fought valiantly but lost in three sets (Adam Davy/PA)
At 4-5 the 22-year-old was in a spot of bother, serving at 0-30, but with a quick squeeze of the accelerator he reeled off eight of the next 10 points to hold and then grab the crucial break.
Alcaraz had dropped just 10 points on serve before the second-set tie-break but he suddenly dropped his guard, with an untimely double fault and a pair of Lehecka aces taking the match the distance.
But Lehecka dipped in the third with Alcaraz breaking for 3-1, and before long a flashing forehand brought up two championship points, the world number two taking the first and roaring with delight at a second Queen's title.
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Powys County Times
44 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Carlos Alcaraz had ‘no expectations' ahead of tennis grass season
Carlos Alcaraz said he had 'no expectations' coming into the grass-court season but he installed himself as a clear favourite to retain his Wimbledon title after beating Jiri Lehecka to win the HSBC Championships. The Spanish top seed regained his crown as the King of Queen's Club and replicated his debut triumph of two years ago with a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory. Alcaraz lifted the trophy just a fortnight after his epic five-set victory over Jannik Sinner in the final of the French Open. keep smiling @carlosalcaraz 🙌 @QueensTennis | #HSBCChampionships — ATP Tour (@atptour) June 22, 2025 The 22-year-old made the tight turnaround from clay to grass look simple, even though he took time out for a holiday in Ibiza before heading to London. 'It's really complicated, the switch from clay to grass in just few days, because that's the time I had before the tournament began,' he said. 'Just two days of practising and then I had to compete here. So I came here with no expectations at all. 'I just came here with a goal to play two, three matches, try to feel great on grass moving, and, you know, give myself the feedback of what I have to improve, what I have to do better. 'So what I'm more proud about this week is th e way that I have been improving every day. You know, since the first day until today, I think I'm a different player on grass. I just got used to it really quick.' It was an 18th-straight match win for Alcaraz – in his fifth consecutive final – following his title successes in Rome and Roland Garros. World number 30 Lehecka had knocked out home hope Jack Draper on Saturday to become the first Czech finalist since Ivan Lendl won the title in 1990. The 23-year-old played his part in a high-quality final with some huge serves and powerful groundstrokes, forcing the match to a decider via a tie-break. But Alcaraz did not face a single break point and slammed down 18 aces on his way to a 21st career title, proving he will be the man to beat at SW19 again with a stylish win in two hours and eight minutes. There will be no trip to the party island to celebrate this one, though. 'I wish,' he smiled. 'I'm a player who needs days off, days to enjoy, days for myself to spend with my friends, with my family, just to turn off my mind. I need that, and the good thing is that I know that. 'The days in Ibiza helped me a lot, just to feel like I'm not a tennis player, just to enjoy life a little bit with my friends, have fun, enjoy those days, and then come back to the court with more energy, I mean, be more hungry to play again. 'So that was really helpful for me. I'm not going to say that I won the tournament because of Ibiza, but, after this tournament, I can't go back home. I'm going to stay here in London, hopefully enjoy London a little bit. 'I'm going to have my days off to rest up, to enjoy, and then be back and preparing Wimbledon the best way possible.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Why Alcaraz is 'red hot favourite' for third Wimbledon title
Carlos Alcaraz arrived in London with "no expectations" but with Wimbledon only eight days away he has sent an ominous message to his rivals as he seeks a third successive world number two beat Jiri Lehecka in the final at Queen's, claiming the crown for the second time and extending his winning streak - the longest of his career - to a remarkable 18 beating Roberto Bautista Agut in Saturday's semi-final, the Spaniard said "grass-court mode is activated".He wasn't fourth grass-court title means that Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the only active player to have more titles on the surface than Alcaraz."I came here with no expectations at all," Alcaraz said. "I just came here with a goal to play two, three matches, try to feel great on grass moving and give myself the feedback of what I have to improve."But I got used to the grass really quick, and I'm just really proud about it. My goal was complete, and I'm not talking about lifting the trophy or making the final."Alcaraz's last defeat came back in April against Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final and he has reached five successive ATP finals, picking up four Queen's is a good omen for Alcaraz. He lifted the title in 2023 and then went on to triumph at eight men have completed that double within the same summer in the Open era."You can't really expect better form for him to come into Wimbledon, he's obviously the player to beat," former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said on BBC Radio 5 Live."I wouldn't back against him winning the title at Wimbledon ... Alcaraz, red hot favourite for sure." Alcaraz aiming for rare summer double Alcaraz has won five Grand Slam titles across three events, with the Australian Open the only trophy missing from his swelling 22-year-old's sole US Open triumph came in 2022 and he sealed a first Wimbledon title the following 2024, he doubled up and became one of just six men in the Open era to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season, following in the footsteps of Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and (2008 and 2010) and Borg (1978, 1979, 1980) are the only men to have won the clay and grass-court Grand Slams in the same season on more than one occasion."Alcaraz had a great French Open and to win the French Open and Wimbledon used to be almost impossible ... but in latter years because the grass courts are much harder with a higher bounce we've seen it happen quite a few times," Cash added."It's still a huge effort because the exhaustion to win a Grand Slam is extreme and he's come over here and won this title as well."This month's Roland Garros final was particularly draining as Alcaraz fought back from two sets down to beat world number one Jannik Sinner in a classic that was the longest French Open final at five hours and 29 heads to the All England Club looking to join another elite three men have won at least three successive Wimbledon titles in the Open won five in a row between 1976 and 1980, with Pete Sampras winning three on the bounce (1993-1995) before bettering that achievement when he won four successive titles between 1997 and Federer was the most recent to achieve that feat when the Swiss dominated across five years from 2003 through to has consistently shone on grass courts and he is fifth active male player to collect four or more titles on the surface, joining Djokovic (eight), Matteo Berrettini (four), Taylor Fritz (four) and Nicolas Mahut (four).And he is just one of three Spanish men to win four grass-court tournaments after Nadal and Feliciano Alcaraz has claimed his fourth at a much younger age - Nadal was 29 and Lopez was 37. Has Alcaraz raised game for Sinner? Alcaraz has lost just five times in 2025 but four of those defeats came in the opening three months of the Lehecka, Jack Draper, David Goffin all recorded victories over Alcaraz before March was over and Rune is the only person to beat him losses against Lehecka, Draper and Goffin coincided with Sinner's absence from the circuit while the Italian served a three-month ban for failing two doping returned in May just after Alcaraz had embarked on his current 18-match win seemed to raise his game when he knew his rival was incoming and beat the Italian twice in the clay-court swing, including in the French Open pair have been widely hailed as the future of tennis and many believe they are primed to dominate once Novak Djokovic - the only active member of the 'Big Four' - calls it a day. Breaks helped Alcaraz get 'joy back again' Alcaraz has been reaping the benefits of striking the right balance between work and life during losing against Draper in the semi-finals at Indian Wells, Alcaraz said he was feeling "too much hate" and made the call to take a short break in Cancun, Mexico to did the same after his French Open win, opting for a short trip to Ibiza to switch off from the relentless demands of the ATP circuit."That was the key, just to have five, six days off, not grabbing a racquet, not stepping on the court," Alcaraz said."After the vacation that I had in Cancun with my family, I just got the joy back, and I start to enjoy playing tennis again, to enjoy step on the court, competing again."Alcaraz is not playing any other tournaments before Wimbledon but is not planning to sneak in a quick he intends to explore what London has to offer."I can't go back home. I'm going to stay here in London, hopefully enjoy London a little bit," Alcaraz added."Let's see how it's going to be in the next days, but I'm going to have my days off to rest up, to enjoy, and then be back and preparing for Wimbledon in the best way possible."
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
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Dan Evans launches X-rated rant at injury excuse culture in tennis as British star gears up for Wimbledon
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