So much for Carlos Alcaraz being a novice on the grass. (More Tennis News)
Alcaraz looked quite at home on the lush green surface at the Queen바카라™s Club Championships in beating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals.
So much for Carlos Alcaraz being a novice on the grass. (More Tennis News)
The new big thing in men바카라™s tennis looked quite at home on the lush green surface at the Queen바카라™s Club Championships in beating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Alcaraz, ranked No. 2 and the top-seeded player in west London, is playing the Wimbledon warmup event for the first time. Indeed, these are his first professional games on grass outside the All England Club, where he바카라™ll head next month seeking his second Grand Slam title after the U.S. Open last year.
Alcaraz said his expectation levels on grass 바카라śare going to change바카라ť given the way he dispatched Lehecka, who came in at a career-high ranking of No. 36.
바카라śAfter this match and this level, I think I바카라™m ready to get good results on grass,바카라ť the Spaniard said.
A cross-court backhand beat the 36th-ranked Lehecka on the stretch to take the first set, during which Alcaraz didn바카라™t face a break point.
Mistakes started to creep into both players바카라™ games in the second set 바카라” there were 41 unforced errors between them overall in the match 바카라” but Alcaraz바카라™s defense and coverage at the net impressed as he wrapped up victory in 1 hour, 25 minutes on his third match point when Lehecka hit a forehand long.
It took Alcaraz more than 2 1/2 hours 바카라” and three sets containing two tiebreakers 바카라” to see off Arthur Rinderknech of France in the first round.
바카라śI feel really comfortable here on grass,바카라ť Alcaraz said. 바카라śI바카라™m happy getting experience on grass. Knowing I have this level, I바카라™m really happy about it.바카라ť
Alcaraz will next play qualifier Grigor Dimitrov, the 2014 champion. He beat eighth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-5.
Adrian Mannarino of France got another big win on grass, and entertained along the way, by ousting third-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (7).
A week after beating Daniil Medvedev last week in바카라™s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, Mannarino used his accurate first serve 바카라” he had a 74% match success rate 바카라” to set up a meeting with Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.
The 46th-ranked Mannarino drew gasps and applause with a no-look volleyed winner, as well as a 바카라™tweener and a shot behind his back in the same point.
Fritz saved three match points in the tiebreaker but double-faulted on the fourth.
De Minaur of Australia defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2 in barely an hour.