Carlos Alcaraz had ‘no expectations' ahead of tennis grass season
Carlos Alcaraz said he had 'no expectations' coming into the grass-court season but he installed himself as a clear favourite to retain his Wimbledon title after beating Jiri Lehecka to win the HSBC Championships.
The Spanish top seed regained his crown as the King of Queen's Club and replicated his debut triumph of two years ago with a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory.
Alcaraz lifted the trophy just a fortnight after his epic five-set victory over Jannik Sinner in the final of the French Open.
The 22-year-old made the tight turnaround from clay to grass look simple, even though he took time out for a holiday in Ibiza before heading to London.
'It's really complicated, the switch from clay to grass in just few days, because that's the time I had before the tournament began,' he said.
'Just two days of practising and then I had to compete here. So I came here with no expectations at all.
'I just came here with a goal to play two, three matches, try to feel great on grass moving, and, you know, give myself the feedback of what I have to improve, what I have to do better.
'So what I'm more proud about this week is th e way that I have been improving every day. You know, since the first day until today, I think I'm a different player on grass. I just got used to it really quick.'
Jiri Lehecka was the first Czech finalist in 35 years (Adam Davy/PA)
It was an 18th-straight match win for Alcaraz – in his fifth consecutive final – following his title successes in Rome and Roland Garros.
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 via a tie-break.
But Alcaraz 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.
Alcaraz celebrated with the ballkids (Adam Davy/PA)
There will be no trip to the party island to celebrate this one, though.
'I wish,' he smiled. 'I'm a player who needs days off, days to enjoy, days for myself to spend with my friends, with my family, just to turn off my mind. I need that, and the good thing is that I know that.
'The days in Ibiza helped me a lot, just to feel like I'm not a tennis player, just to enjoy life a little bit with my friends, have fun, enjoy those days, and then come back to the court with more energy, I mean, be more hungry to play again.
'So that was really helpful for me. I'm not going to say that I won the tournament because of Ibiza, but, after this tournament, I can't go back home. I'm going to stay here in London, hopefully enjoy London a little bit.
'I'm going to have my days off to rest up, to enjoy, and then be back and preparing Wimbledon the best way possible.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Man Utd fans fume ‘get out of our club' after Garnacho's controversial Instagram post wearing Rashford Villa shirt
MANCHESTER UNITED fans fumed 'get out of our club' after Alejandro Garnacho posed in an Aston Villa shirt bearing the name of fellow outcast Marcus Rashford. Garnacho, 20, has been 6 Alejandro Garnacho enraged Man Utd fans by wearing an Aston Villa shirt bearing Marcus Rashford's name Credit: 6 The pair have both been axed by Ruben Amorim and are searching for new clubs Credit: Getty The Argentina international scored just six Premier League goals. And he is now on the hunt for a fresh start, with clubs including Napoli and Chelsea interested. In the meantime, Garnacho has been living it up while holidaying in locations such as Rome and Tokyo. His latest stop took him to the Spanish island of Ibiza. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL And Garnacho made his feelings perfectly clear on his United situation as he posed for a controversial photo. The winger stood with his back to camera outside a luxury Villa with two Lamborghinis parked in the driveway. However, Garnacho was not wearing his usual fashionable clothes and instead covered himself in the shirt of United's rivals Aston Villa. Not only that, the jersey also bore the name of teammate and fellow misfit Rashford, who was axed by Amorim earlier this year. Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS He spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Villa Park and Red Devils fans reacted angrily to the snap as they flooded social media with raging comments. New Man Utd star Matheus Cunha runs rings around pals as he plays 5-a-side on streets in his hometown 6 Garnacho has been holidaying in Ibiza this week Credit: 6 The ace was splashing the cash in Spain Credit: 6 Garnacho has also visited Rome this summer Credit: 6 He even enjoyed a cheeky trip to Tokyo Credit: One said: 'Get out of our club.' Another declared: 'Diabolical.' One noted: 'This is why we need a culture reset.' Another added: 'Game's gone.' But Villa fans seemed delighted at the potential prospect of signing Garnacho as Rashford's replacement. One said: 'Begging for a move.' Another declared: 'Leave him alone.'
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Carlos Alcaraz had ‘no expectations' ahead of tennis grass season
Carlos Alcaraz said he had 'no expectations' coming into the grass-court season but he installed himself as a clear favourite to retain his Wimbledon title after beating Jiri Lehecka to win the HSBC Championships. The Spanish top seed regained his crown as the King of Queen's Club and replicated his debut triumph of two years ago with a 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory. Alcaraz lifted the trophy just a fortnight after his epic five-set victory over Jannik Sinner in the final of the French Open. The 22-year-old made the tight turnaround from clay to grass look simple, even though he took time out for a holiday in Ibiza before heading to London. 'It's really complicated, the switch from clay to grass in just few days, because that's the time I had before the tournament began,' he said. 'Just two days of practising and then I had to compete here. So I came here with no expectations at all. 'I just came here with a goal to play two, three matches, try to feel great on grass moving, and, you know, give myself the feedback of what I have to improve, what I have to do better. 'So what I'm more proud about this week is th e way that I have been improving every day. You know, since the first day until today, I think I'm a different player on grass. I just got used to it really quick.' Jiri Lehecka was the first Czech finalist in 35 years (Adam Davy/PA) It was an 18th-straight match win for Alcaraz – in his fifth consecutive final – following his title successes in Rome and Roland Garros. 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 via a tie-break. But Alcaraz 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. Alcaraz celebrated with the ballkids (Adam Davy/PA) There will be no trip to the party island to celebrate this one, though. 'I wish,' he smiled. 'I'm a player who needs days off, days to enjoy, days for myself to spend with my friends, with my family, just to turn off my mind. I need that, and the good thing is that I know that. 'The days in Ibiza helped me a lot, just to feel like I'm not a tennis player, just to enjoy life a little bit with my friends, have fun, enjoy those days, and then come back to the court with more energy, I mean, be more hungry to play again. 'So that was really helpful for me. I'm not going to say that I won the tournament because of Ibiza, but, after this tournament, I can't go back home. I'm going to stay here in London, hopefully enjoy London a little bit. 'I'm going to have my days off to rest up, to enjoy, and then be back and preparing Wimbledon the best way possible.'
The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Nobody likes you' – Fiery moment tennis stars clash on court after player's sarcastic gesture
TWO rival tennis players clashed in a fiery row following one star's sarcastic gesture. And one even told her foe: "Nobody likes you." 7 Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva got into a fiery clash Credit: 7 Putintseva bowed down to her opponent sarcastically Credit: 7 The pair got into a war of words at the end Credit: 7 The Kazakhstani player bowed down in another petulant gesture Credit: Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva faced off in the first round of the Bad Homburg Open in Germany on Sunday. Former world No3 Sakkari, 29, came through a tight encounter, winning 7-5 7-6. But there was none of the usual respect and warmth at the handshake at the net following match point. They did clasp hands but there was clearly some underlying tension. READ MORE IN TENNIS And when Putintseva, 30, did not give eye contact as she extended her hand out, Sakkari took exception. The Greek ace made a comment as her defeated opponent walked towards the umpire. And that led to a spectacular bust-up, with Kazakhstani Putintseva sarcastically curtsying for the winner. Both player shook hands with the chair umpire whilst their war of words continued. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Sakkari walked over to Putintseva's chair and made her feelings clear about the petulant behaviour and Putintseva snapped back. The courtside microphones appeared to pick up the world No86 telling Putintseva to "act like a human being". Jack Draper breaks advertising board after smashing his racket in Queen's meltdown Putintseva then reportedly told Sakkari to "go f*** herself" as the umpire tries to calm things down, chipping in: "Ladies, please." But her rival's comment lit the fuse for Sakkari who confronted Putintseva again and told her: "Nobody likes you." World No27 Putintseva then picked up her racquet bag and towels before bowing in front of Sakkari as the feud escalated. Quizzed about the drama in her on-court interview, Sakkari joked: "I don't think she's going to invite me for dinner for the rest of our lives. "But I don't care to be honest. "I have very good friends." Tennis stars' new careers PLENTY of tennis stars have stayed involved in the sport since retiring. But others pursued very different careers. Here are some of the best… I reached French Open and Wimbledon finals as a teenager but I I won Wimbledon mixed doubles with my sister but got fed up with English weather so I was tipped for stardom aged 12 but retrained to I earned £9m and won French Open before setting up I'm last Frenchman to win Roland Garros, now I'm singer with six albums hitting No1 in charts I'm former world No1 but quit aged 29 - instead I went on to play professional poker and golf I was destined for the top but swapped lobs for labs as award-winning Harvard physicist And the incident sparked plenty of talk among tennis fans on social media - especially as She was the female player at the centre of a scandal for her One fan wrote: "Sakarri not putting up with Putintseva's antics and says that's why nobody likes you. You don't mess with Maria Sakkari!" Another said: "The most annoying and unlikable player on the WTA Tour. It's shameful that a female would behave the way she does." A third added: "That was so unnecessary from Maria. That's not a national news that Yulia's handshakes (especially after losing) are usually cold. If she wants to behave like that just leave her alone." And a final user commented: "Nothing wrong with a bit of passion. We don't want robots. Wouldn't want this at every match obviously." 7 Courtside microphones picked up some of the conversation Credit: 7 Sakkari fired an accusatory finger at her defeated rival as she walked off Credit: 7 The Greek player was all smiles and joked about the incident Credit:
