Playing just the third grass-court tournament of his career and the first outside of Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz triumphed at the Cinch Championships on Sunday afternoon. Alcaraz defeated Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4, breaking once in each set to prevail after one hour and 39 minutes.
“It means a lot to me,” the 20-year-old assured. “Being able to win this amazing tournament in my first time that I played here for me is fantastic. To know that I’m [capable of] a good level on grass, obviously [to be] champion of every tournament feels special.”
Alcaraz back to No. 1 in the world
By taking the title at Queen’s Club, Alcaraz regained the No. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic. With the Wimbledon draw being made later this week, that means the Spaniard will be the top seed at the All-England Club.
“The chances don’t change so much,” he said of the seeding. “I mean, Novak is coming to Wimbledon. Right now I’m feeling better than the beginning of the week; that’s obvious. Of course, recovering the No. 1 before Wimbledon gives you extra motivation; it gives you extra confidence coming into Wimbledon. But it doesn’t change too much if I play Wimbledon as the No. 2 or the No. 1.”
Bublik beats Rublev for Halle title
There was a more surprising result at the Terra Wortmann Open, although it wasn’t exactly a big shock considering Alexander Bublik’s skill on grass. Bublik powered his way to his first ATP 500 title by beating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday. The Kazakh cracked 21 aces to overcome 11 double-faults while triumphing in one hour and 36 minutes.
“It really means the world to me,” Bublik commented. “I’ve been struggling for half a year and now having this a reward, I don’t take it for granted. It was hard work. I was walking through the little hall of fame here before entering the court for the very first time against (Jan-Lennard) Struff and I was like, ‘Wow, the different names, a lot of guys I’m familiar with. That would be nice maybe to have it one day.’
“But I could not even imagine that I would win this tournament, and I’m really, really happy.”
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impressive, Bublik
Carlos is King; and great week for Bublik!!!