Carlos Alcaraz regained his crown as the King of Queen’s after beating Jiri Lehecka in the HSBC Championships final.
The Spanish top seed replicated his debut triumph on the grass courts of west London in 2023 with a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory.
It was an 18th-straight match win for Alcaraz – in his fifth consecutive final – following his title successes in Rome and at the French Open.
World number 30 Lehecka had knocked out home hope Jack Draper on Saturday to become the first Czech finalist since Ivan Lendl won the title in 1990.
The 23-year-old played his part in a high-quality final with some huge serves and powerful groundstrokes, forcing the match to a decider after winning a tie-break in the second set.
But Alcaraz, the defending Wimbledon champion, did not face a single break point and slammed down 18 aces on his way to a 21st career title, proving he will be the man to beat at SW19 again with a stylish win in two hours and eight minutes.
“It’s really special, this trophy and this tournament. I’m happy to lift this trophy once again,” he said.
“Jiri, you had an incredible week and it’s a nightmare to play against you. Great week, great job and keep it up for Wimbledon.
“It has been an incredible week. I came without expectations and just wanted to play good tennis and to get used to the grass.”
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Alcaraz got a first look at a break point at 2-2, but he barely saw Lehecka’s 138mph ace that snuffed it out.
At 4-5, the 22-year-old was in a spot of bother, serving at 0-30, but with a quick touch of the accelerator, he reeled off eight of the next 10 points to hold and then grab the crucial break.
Alcaraz had dropped just 10 points on serve before the second-set tie-break, but he suddenly dropped his guard, with an untimely double fault and a pair of Lehecka aces taking the match the distance.
Lehecka’s level dipped in the third with Alcaraz breaking to make it 3-1. Before long, a flashing forehand brought up two championship points for the world No 2, who took the first and roared with delight at a second Queen’s title.
