So much for Carlos Alcaraz being a novice on the grass.
The new big thing in men바카라s tennis looked quite at home on the lush green surface at the Queen바카라s 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 he바카라ll head next month seeking his second Grand Slam title after the U.S. Open last year.
Alcaraz said his expectation levels on grass 바카라are going to change바카라 given the way he dispatched Lehecka, who came in at a career-high ranking of No. 36.
바카라After this match and this level, I think I바카라m ready to get good results on grass,바카라 the Spaniard said.
A cross-court backhand beat the 36th-ranked Lehecka on the stretch to take the first set, during which Alcaraz didn바카라t 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 Alcaraz바카라s 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.
바카라I feel really comfortable here on grass,바카라 Alcaraz said. 바카라I바카라m happy getting experience on grass. Knowing I have this level, I바카라m really happy about it.바카라
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 in바카라s-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 바카라tweener 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.
