Carlos Alcaraz is on the verge of winning his first grass court title and reclaiming the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic after a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sebastian Korda in the Queen’s Club semi-final on Saturday. In the final, the Spaniard will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who defeated second seed Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) to secure his spot.
Despite having only participated in three grass court tournaments in his career, Alcaraz has adapted swiftly to the conditions, overcoming a challenging opening round match against French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech.
Although he faced a slow start and was broken in the first game, the US Open champion recovered well. Korda’s multiple double faults at crucial moments proved to be his downfall as Alcaraz quickly broke back and eventually clinched a tight first set with another break in the eighth game. The second set was more straightforward for the 20-year-old, as he broke to love in the third game and comfortably served it out.
Expressing his satisfaction, Alcaraz described this as his best performance on grass so far and emphasized his happiness to be playing at Queen’s, where he has felt the support from the crowd since his first match. A win in the final would give him his fifth title of the year and propel him back ahead of Djokovic in the world rankings.
Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur continued to impress in London, overpowering world number six Holger Rune. De Minaur, who halted Andy Murray’s resurgence in the first round, is aiming for his second grass court title after triumphing in Eastbourne in 2021. He expressed his love for playing on the Queen’s Club court in front of the amazing crowd and declared this as his best performance of the week.
In another grass court event, the Halle ATP tournament, Alexander Bublik secured a place in the final by defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-5. Bublik, who won his only title against Zverev last year in Montpellier, will face Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who eliminated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-4. Bublik relied on his strong service game, firing 14 aces, and broke Zverev’s serve in the fourth game of the first set to establish an early lead. Despite a competitive second set, Bublik took advantage of Zverev’s collapse at 5-5 to seal a 7-5 victory.
Reflecting on his win, Bublik acknowledged that the job is not yet finished and he needs to remain focused for the final. He commended Zverev as a tough opponent and expressed his happiness with today’s victory, recognizing the importance of having all his weapons working when facing a top player like Zverev.
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