Alcaraz Brings Ibiza Sun To Queen's Club In First Round Win

Forbes

5 hours ago

Carlos Alcaraz is certainly a good advert for the power of R and R in Ibiza. He opened his 2025 grass court campaign at Queen's Club by beating lucky loser Adam Walton 6-4, 7-6 (4). Alcaraz's original opponent, compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, withdrew with illness just hours before the match. The Australian used the element of surprise to his advantage in an encounter that topped 100 minutes.
The top seed sparkled sporadically in a tough two-setter with an opponent who just refused to fade away. Alcaraz wore his lucky black and white top from the French Open in temperatures that challenged the Balearic Islands for blistering heat if not beaches. There was at least one medical incident in the crowd during Jack Draper's victory that preceded this match.
The 26-year-old from Brisbane stayed solid on his serve as the first six games were shared. Alcaraz pounced in the seventh, stepping into the ball and upping the intensity to force the break as his groundstrokes went through the gears and burnt the grass.
The Spaniard produced some classic drop shots and touch, mixed in with transition rust after a clay-court swing that finished with that epic win over Jannik Sinner in Paris. He eventually broke with his third opportunity and the set was done. Walton wasn't going anywhere though.
The Queenslander has been active on the Challenger Tour and had a head start on grass after taking Dan Evans to three sets at the Libema Open last week. He has also claimed a Wimbledon first-round win over Federico Coria in 2024 and was comfortable on the natural surface. Walton even threatened to take the match all the way as Alcaraz served at 4-5 and 15-40. The five-time major champion rediscovered his serve and precision at the right time to push through a tiebreak 7-4 and claim a place in the last 16.
Alcaraz won the Queen's title in 2023 and within a month was lifting the Wimbledon trophy after an epic five-set tussle with Novak Djokovic. Twelve months later, he defended the title with a more emphatic straight sets win over Djokovic. The Murcia man has now found a love of grass although his free time choices between the clay and grass season have raised some eyebrows and voices among his team.
Alcaraz's 72-hour 'Ibiza swing' is now a fixture after he temporarily relocated there in 2023 following his French Open semifinal collapse against the Serb. "I made the most of it because I knew I might not get another three days like that. When I got back, of course, I won Queen's and Wimbledon. I'm not saying partying helped me win, but taking that time off was good for me,' Alcaraz said in his Netflix documentary which aired in May.
In 2024, Alcaraz returned with his brother and friends after his first Roland Garros triumph over Alexander Zverev. Agent Albert Molina Lopez and coach Juan Carlos Ferrero were not totally on board with this downtime and their charge duly lost in the second round at Queen's to Draper. The My Way docuseries was a fascinating insight into a player who could achieve anything he wanted. The question left hanging was how much he wanted it. It appears suboptimal to ask when the man in question has won five major finals and seven ATP Masters 1000 events.
Ferrero was more forgiving of the third instalment of the Ibiza trilogy after the draining near six-hour epic against Sinner. He told his charge to go and enjoy himself, but to remember his status as a tennis player.
Alcaraz has spoken up about the ever-increasing schedule of the ATP Tour, at one point suggesting that 'they are trying to kill us in some way.' With the tough love of Ferrero, it's a course that requires dedication to ensure the Spanish Armada doesn't drift off course when it hasn't got its guns facing in the right direction.
The world No. 1 now faces fellow countryman Jaume Munar in the last 16. Munar beat him at the Andalucian Open in 2021 and has some form on the green patch, beating John Isner at Wimbledon in 2023 and taking Cameron Norrie to five sets the previous year.
The Wimbledon champion thanked London in his post-match interview. The heat is on but he looks chilled enough to deal with anything right now. Thirty slams? Better to enjoy the moment as most 22-year-olds do.