London: World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz clinched his first title on grass as the Spaniard defeated Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-4, 6-4 at Queen’s Club here on Sunday.
This victory also means that the 20-year-old will overtake Novak Djokovic to be the men’s World No. 1, and will play at the upcoming grass-court Wimbledon Championships as the top seed.
“Even if I win the title, I just played 11 matches in my career on grass, so I have to get more experience, more hours,” said Alcaraz, whose previous experience on grass amounts to two Wimbledon appearances in the past two years.
“But obviously, after beating these amazing guys, these great players, and the level that I played, I consider myself one of the favourites or one of the players to be able to win Wimbledon.”
Alcaraz battled hard in the first round at Queen’s Club as he came from one set down to edge lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech on Tuesday. But the 2022 U.S. Open champion adapted his game well on grass, winning the following four matches all in straight sets.
Alcaraz reached the round of last 16 at last year’s Wimbledon and said he believed he has many weapons on grass.
“I try to hit big shots all the time. I think I have improved my serves a lot. And with the forehand, I try to dominate all the time,” he said.
