By beating Australian Alex de Minaur (6-4, 6-4), the 20-year-old Spaniard capped off a perfect week on a racetrack in which he has little experience. Until last week, he was only playing on the grass at Wimbledon: he’s reached the second and fourth rounds in recent years. After Queen’s, he played eleven matches on grass, nearly doubling his experience.
Although Djokovic has prepared for Wimbledon in Queen’s and Halle in Germany in the past, he was nowhere to be seen last week. He chose to play an easy run at the prestigious tournament which he hopes to win for the eighth time, one time more often than former lawn expert Pete Sampras and record holder Roger Federer. It wouldn’t be because of his experience: He’d played 115 fast-surface duels that were used in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
The main rival Djokovic
Given Alcaraz’s lead on the grass, the young Spaniard appears to be Djokovic’s main challenger. Australian Nick Kyrgios, who lost last year’s final, is plagued by injuries and has already canceled two consecutive tournaments on grass. Matteo Berrettini, who lost definitively to Djokovic in 2021, is not doing well. Two-time winner Rafael Nadal is recovering from a chronic hip injury.
Alcaraz’s self-confidence has grown exponentially thanks to his five matches at Queen’s. He barely survived the first round: only in the tie-break of the third set did he beat Frenchman Arthur Rindercknik. He never lost a set after that. He dominated Czech Jiri Lejeka, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and American Sebastian Korda in two sets, just like turf specialist De Minaur in the final.
The winner of a major singles tournament (US Open 2022) has already indicated after beating Lehecka in the second round that he is starting to feel at home in Queens. Expect that he will get good results, even if the grass forces him to adjust his movement pattern. It cannot slide like clay and has less grip than clay or hard court.
On the other hand, Alcaraz loves to come to the net and completes much better than most tennis players. Grass also suits his temperament: he loves to attack with his blows. I didn’t start the week well, but I adapted my moves and finished the week with a lot of energy. I feel great on the lawn. I’m glad I gained more experience.
