Carlos Alcaraz will look to make a swift transition to grass courts after his heroics at the French Open and he will face a familiar face when he arrives at the Queen’s Club in London.
Alcaraz’s remarkable five-set win against Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros has been hailed as one of the greatest tennis matches ever played.
The Spaniard’s fifth Grand Slam title was an emotionally and physically draining experience, so the 22-year-old decided to take some time away from the game before he turns his attention to the defence of his Wimbledon title.
So he will be short of grass court practice heading into the ATP 500 event at the Queen’s Club, where he won the title in 2023.
That could give his first couple of opponents a chance to cause an upset to match Jack Draper’s win against Alcaraz in this tournament last year.
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The draw has been made for the 2025 HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club and No 1 seed Alcaraz will play Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his opening match on Tuesday.
He will fancy his chances of getting through against an opponent who is better suited to clay courts, but the challenge is likely to be stepped up after that.
Big-serving Ben Shelton has a game that should be perfect for grass and he could be firing balls in Alcaraz’s direction in the second round at Queen’s Club.
The world No 2 also has the dangerous Holger Rune in his section of the draw, as well as former Queen’s Club champion Grigor Dimitrov.
Alcaraz was criticised by his own coach and manager in the recent Netflix documentary focused on his story so far after he opted to go on a break to Ibiza after he won the 2024 French Open.
He silenced those doubts by winning Wimbledon last summer, so coach Juan Carlos Ferrero appears to be more relaxed about his decision to go back to Ibiza in recent days.
“He’s switching off. Yesterday I told him to have a good time, that he deserved it, but to remember that he’s a tennis player at all times,” said Ferrero.
“We already know what he’s like. He’s doing well and when he comes back, he comes back in a good place, refreshed.
“It’s not the word party anymore, it’s the disconnection from being with his friends, from not thinking about tennis and from being a normal 22-year-old.
“He does go on vacation, but only occasionally. He’s not there every day, as people think.”
Draper is the No 2 seed at Queen’s and will take on American Jenson Brooksby in his opening match, with Frances Tiafoe in the same section of the draw as the Brit.
Taylor Fritz is also lurking in Draper’s section, with the Brit set to come under the spotlight in his homeland like never before this summer.
Draper’s impressive rise up the ATP Rankings will hype up the speculation around Draper and he will be the focus of huge media attention.
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