LONDON (AP) 鈥� Carlos Alcaraz showed he will be the man to beat at again after defeating Jiri Lehecka in the final at Queen's Club on Sunday.
The top-seeded Spaniard 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 鈥� in his fifth consecutive final 鈥� following his title successes and .
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 Lehecka played his part in a high-quality final with some huge serves and powerful ground strokes, forcing the match to a decider via a tiebreaker.
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, and second at Queen's.
Alcaraz lifted the trophy just two weeks after his epic five-set victory over Jannik Sinner at Roland-Garros.
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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really complicated, the switch from clay to grass in just few days, because that鈥檚 the time I had before the tournament began,鈥� Alcaraz said. 鈥淛ust two days of practicing and then I had to compete here. So I came here with no expectations at all.
鈥淚 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.
鈥淪o what I鈥檓 more proud about this week is the way that I have been improving every day. You know, since the first day until today, I think I鈥檓 a different player on grass. I just got used to it really quick.鈥�
Wimbledon starts June 30.
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AP tennis:
The Associated Press
