Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz fired a Wimbledon warning as he comfortably beat Alex de Minaur 6-4 6-4 to claim the Queen’s Club title on Sunday and return to world No 1.
In baking temperatures, the 20-year-old had too much firepower for his wily Australian opponent as he claimed his first grasscourt title in impressive fashion.
It was only Alcaraz’s third tournament on grass, but the way he marched through the draw augurs well for his prospects at Wimbledon, where he will be seeded No 1.
De Minaur, the first Australian to reach the London final since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006, had chances for a break of serve when leading 4-3 in the opening set but could not take them.
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Alcaraz then broke serve in the following game before wrapping up the set on serve.
De Minaur double-faulted to hand over a service game early in the second set and there was no way the muscular Spaniard was going to pass up the opportunity to notch his fifth title of 2023.
Alcaraz is the fourth Spanish player to win the prestigious pre-Wimbledon tournament and will now hope to emulate Rafael Nadal who triumphed at Queen’s in 2008 before going on to win Wimbledon for the first time a few weeks later.
While Novak Djokovic remains the favourite to retain his Wimbledon title, Alcaraz will be the top seed at the tournament, where he reached the fourth round last year.
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