Carlos Alcaraz credits Ibiza trip for helping him win Queen's title
Two weeks after his French Open victory, Carlos Alcaraz completed part two of his bid for a rare summer treble in men's tennis by winning the HSBC Championships at the Queen's Club.
The next stop is Wimbledon. Not only is Alcaraz bidding for a third consecutive title at the All England Club, he has the chance to become only the second man in the open era to win three of the sport's most historic tournaments in the same year, following in the footsteps of the great Rafael Nadal in 2008.
Ominously for his rivals, Alcaraz did not need to be at his best in west London to win the Queen's Club trophy for the second time in three years. He was pushed to three sets by Jiri Lehecka, the world No30 from the Czech Republic, before prevailing 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 in two hours and eight minutes.
'It's really special this trophy and this tournament,' Alcaraz, the world No2, said. 'I'm happy to lift this trophy once again. It has been an incredible week. I came without expectations and just wanted to play good tennis and to get used to the grass. It's really special playing here every year and I can't wait to come back next year.'
The key weapon for Alcaraz here was his serve. Lehecka is renowned for his serve, regularly firing it down and clocking speeds of up to 140mph, but it was Alcaraz who was achieving more success with better accuracy. In total the Spaniard hit 18 aces to Lehecka's seven and did not face a single break point.
At the age of 22, Alcaraz is already so accomplished at adjusting between the sport's three surfaces of hard, clay and grass. He is also a bundle of energy, which helps when you are arriving at the Queen's Club only 48 hours after being seen dancing at an Ibiza club in celebration of his fifth grand-slam singles triumph at Roland Garros.
'I'm a player who needs days off to enjoy, days for myself to spend with my friends, with my family, just to turn off my mind,' Alcaraz said. '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 and be more hungry to play again.
'It's really complicated to switch from clay to grass in just a few days. 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 give myself the feedback of what I have to improve. But I just got used to the grass really quick, and I'm just really proud about it.'
A double fault from Alcaraz allowed Lehecka to take the second set after a tie-break, but the world No30 was outclassed in the third set
EPA
Alcaraz was well aware beforehand of the challenge that Lehecka poses after losing to the 23-year-old in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in February. Holding serve is of greater importance against a player who makes it so difficult to hit a clear return, and Alcaraz did a fine job from the outset by cruising through his first four service games without losing a point.
When the opportunity came on the Lehecka serve at 5-5, Alcaraz pounced with a break before serving out the first set. Bringing up another chance in the second set, however, proved more difficult as there was not a single break point for either player in 12 games before the tie-break.
A double fault by Alcaraz at 5-5 allowed Lehecka to level the match at one set all, but the decider was not as close as the two sets that had preceded it. Alcaraz typically raised his level with some tremendous shot-making to take control and claimed a double break to seal an 18th win in a row.
While Jack Draper was not part of finals day after his three-set defeat by Lehecka in Saturday's semi-final, there was at least a British doubles victory for the home crowd to savour. Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool became the first all-British pairing since Pat Hughes and Frank Wilde in 1938 to win the Queen's title, defeating Croatia's Nikola Mektic and New Zealand's Michael Venus 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 10-6 after a deciding tie-break.
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