Carlos Alcaraz has roared back to the top of world tennis while becoming the king of Queen’s at Alex de Minaur’s expense.
The young Spaniard regained his world No.1 spot from Novak Djokovic by winning the venerable Queen’s Club Championship with a relatively trouble-free 6-4 6-4 victory over the plucky Australian in Sunday’s final.
It meant de Minaur missed out in his bid to become the first Aussie since his hero and Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt 17 years ago to lift one of the oldest and most distinguished prizes in tennis.
But his substantial consolation is a move up to No.16 in the rankings. It will guarantee de Minaur a top-16 seeding for Wimbledon, which gives him, in theory, the best chance of a smooth run to the second week.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz has joined an illustrious list of Spanish stars to win the 133-year-old Championship, and now considers himself a good bet to repeat the Queen's-Wimbledon double annexed by his great compatriot Rafael Nadal in 2008.
"It's special for me to play here, so many lions have won here. Seeing my name in the trophy, surrounded by the great champions, for me it's amazing," said Alcaraz.
"I just played 11 matches in my career on grass, so I have to get more experience but obviously after beating amazing guys, great players, and the level that I played, I consider myself one of the favourites to win Wimbledon."
After a brilliant week’s work, in which he had beaten one of the sport’s other 20-year-old comets Holger Rune in the semi-final, de Minaur finally met his match on reputedly the best grass-court in tennis amid sweltering heat but also an awkward on-court breeze.
In an underwhelming final, Alcaraz took advantage of just two break points, one in either set, while de Minaur couldn't cash in on his two. Ultimately, that clinical champion's edge proved the difference.
"I'm very happy with the week all up. Very positive week for me to get a lot of matches on the grass, get the confidence up," said de Minaur.
Needing a victory to begin a fourth spell as world No.1 and book the Wimbledon No.1 seeding, Alcaraz was stretched to the limit in the first set before eventually grabbing control at the end of the stanza in which de Minaur's aggressive hustle bothered him.
But once Alcaraz had snuffed out a couple of de Minaur break points - one with a 137mph ace - when 3-4 down in the opening stanza, he then went on the offensive himself as his power began to put the Sydneysider on the back foot and he earned the crucial break for a 5-4 lead.
Alcaraz needed his thigh heavily strapped by a physio at the end of the first set, and de Minaur showed he wasn't finished as he produced a dazzling drop volley winner that spun back over to his side of the net like a trick shot, earning a handshake of approval from his young opponent.
But a calamitous service game at 2-2, when he threw in two double faults, spelled the beginning of the end for the Australian as Alcaraz went on to seal his first grass-court triumph in one hour and 39 minutes with no further alarm.
The US Open champ Alcaraz, who said he'd come to Queen's just to continue his grass-court education, now leaves as a genuine threat at Wimbledon, which begins on Monday week.
"I think anyone that wins Queen's is in pretty good shape come Wimbledon," said de Minaur, asked about Alcaraz's Wimbledon hopes.
