After Holger Rune got rid of the whip of the huge Maxime Cressy in two tiebreaks, it was the turn of Carlos Alcaraz's debut on the grass of Queen's. The Dane, second, and the Spaniard, first, head the tournament's seeding list, Alcaraz's only step in preparation for Wimbledon. Called up to face Arthur Fils, he had to play against Arthur Rinderknech, another Frenchman, rescued from the previous phase due to the loss of the intrepid champion in Lyon, who withdrew hours before the game. The grass is a box of bombs. The Spaniard also had to suffer against an opponent with good skills on the surface. He won 4-6, 7-5 and 7-6 (3), in two hours and 33 minutes.

With a short background on grass, this is his third tournament, this was his seventh match, Alcaraz tries to standardize the already accredited strength both on clay and on hard courts. Defeated in the round of 16 of the last edition of Wimbledon by Jannik Sinner, he knows that, without being a specialist, he can be competitive in this unique territory.

Rinderknech, the last Frenchman to say goodbye to Roland Garros, with his loss in the second round against Taylor Fritz, saved three breaking balls in the seventh game with as many winning services. Number 83 in the world, surpassed by Alcaraz in four sets in the second instance of the 2021 United States Open, it was he who opened the gap in the match with a break in the eighth: he won it in white, with a pitiful smash to the net from Spanish. It was of little use to Alcaraz to escape from the first set point, to the rest, and to recover the service. I would lose it again next.

Discomfort

Depersonalized, with obvious signs of discomfort, inaccurate in converting breaking balls, three of 11, Alcaraz could not develop the game that has allowed him to win this year in Indian Wells, Madrid, Barcelona and Buenos Aires, making the final in Rio de Janeiro and semifinals at Roland Garros, where he lost, conditioned by cramps, against Novak Djokovic. It was at the end of the second set when, with a greater point of aggressiveness and more visits to the net, he managed to find a certain fluidity and asserted the only break, in the eleventh game.

The victory required of trade and dedication. He had to come back from a 2-0 down in the third quarter and was forced into a tiebreaker for the resolution. There the hierarchy and determination did weigh. The Czech Jiri Lehecka awaits him this Thursday, who beat Alejandro Davidovich in two sets.

“It was my first match this year on grass and he had already played one. It was difficult at first, but I enjoyed every point. It has been a good performance”, commented the Murcian at the foot of the track after the match.