World no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz is through to his 14th ATP final, the first on grass! The debutant and the top seed at Queen’s defeated another young gun Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 21 minutes. Thus, Carlos remains on the title course and moves a win away from regaining the ATP throne from Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz and Korda met for the first time since the last year’s Roland Garros, and the Spaniard had the upper hand for his third win over the American. Carlos dropped six points behind the first serve and defended four out of five break chances.
Korda could not follow that pace, spraying too many errors and losing serve three times from nine opportunities offered to his rival. Both players landed 19 winners, with a similar number of unreturned serves. The Spaniard made the difference in the errors department, staying on nine and welcoming the rival’s 24!
Sebastian made a better start and forced Carlos’ error in the encounter’s first game for an early break.
Carlos Alcaraz is through to the final at Queen’s on his debut.
Korda landed three double faults in the second game and lost serve after Alcaraz’s forehand return winner.
The American denied two break points in the fourth game to avoid another setback and earned three opportunities on the return in the next one. Carlos saved them and held with a service winner for a vital hold and a 3-2 lead.
Korda faced issues in game six, facing two break points and erasing them with good serves. The American cracked a backhand down the line winner to wrap up the game and level the score at 3-3. Carlos pushed strong in the fourth consecutive return game and created two break points at 4-3 with a sharp return.
The Spaniard raised the level with his forehand and fired a down the line winner for a break and a 5-3 advantage. Alcaraz served for the set in game nine and landed a service winner for 6-3 after 43 minutes. The second set was much more fluid, with nine comfortable holds and one loose service game from Sebastian.
Carlos dropped seven points behind the initial shot and kept the pressure on the other side. World no. 2 grabbed a break at love in game three with a forehand return winner to build the crucial advantage. Alcaraz confirmed the break with a forehand down the line winner in game four and held at 30 two games later for 4-2.
Korda followed the rival’s pace in the rest of the set but could not create break chances. Alcaraz served for the victory at 5-4 and painted a forehand crosscourt winner to emerge at the top and celebrate a spot in his first grass-court ATP final at 20.
