With Wimbledon Looming, Alcaraz Passes First Test On London Grass

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2023 (by Michael Dickens]

With the Wimbledon Championships less than two weeks away, all eyes this week are on World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. The personable, 20-year-old Spaniard began his grass-court campaign in the ATP 500 Cinch Championships at west London’s Queen’s Club Tuesday afternoon with a 4-5, 7-7, 7-6 (3) victory over French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech, a last-moment replacement for another Frenchman, Arthur Fils. It is just Alcaraz’s third tour-level grass-court event and first outside of Wimbledon.

During his pre-tournament news conference on Sunday, the top-seeded Alcaraz said he felt good after exiting his French Open semifinal against tournament winner Novak Djokovic affected by cramps in the final two sets.

Alcaraz suggested that the transition from clay to grass takes time and there are adjustments to be made concerning movement, which improved during his two-hour, 34-minute tussle with the tall and lanky 83rd-ranked Rinderknech.

“The most difficult part is to move well on grass,” said Alcaraz, who will oppose No. 36 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the second round. “You need to be more careful than other surfaces, so for me to move on grass is the most difficult.

“The most comfortable [thing] is going to the net and playing aggressively all the time. For me it is similar to other surfaces with my style. Playing that style is comfortable and I like it.

“There are a lot of players who slice on grass. I am not one of them, so I have to think about then movement. I have to be focused on every movement and shot. For me it is more tiring when you are moving on grass. It is totally different, so you have to be really specific.”

After his victory, Alcaraz, who struck 46 winners to 16 unforced errors and won 75 percent of his first-serve points against Rinderknech, said: “It was really difficult for me at the beginning to adapt my tennis, my game to the grass. For me, it is tough playing here but of course I enjoyed playing on grass and playing at Queen’s. It is a tournament that I really wanted to play. It was a good performance from me on my first match on grass.”

Ted Robinson: Roland Garros reinforces belief that tennis, globally, is fine

Ted Robinson

Ted Robinson (photo: Michael Dickens)

Longtime Tennis Channel commentator Ted Robinson is back from Roland Garros and shared some thoughts about this year’s French Open with Tennis TourTalk in an e-mail interview:

• “I was most taken by the attendance. Recent years have seen much commenting and complaint about scheduling. This year, I was on the 11 a.m. matches and most days in [Court Suzanne] Lenglen, a men’s match was first on.

“Each day I was there, the stadium was at least three-fourths full by 11:30. Certainly, placing French players (Lestienne and Paire) there the first two days helped, but even in the middle weekend, the attendance for the early matches was strong.”

• “The grounds at Roland Garros continue to shine. Customers are responding positively to the improvements. Each year, Roland Garros reinforces the belief that tennis, at least globally, is fine. There is no shortage of demand for tickets, merchandise, food and beverage – all of which equals money for the FFT.”

Navratilova announces she is free of cancer

Tennis Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova announced Monday on Twitter that she was free of cancer following what she said was a full day of tests at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

“Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians, etc. – what a relief,” she wrote.

The 66-year-old, 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, revealed last January that she had been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer and that she would immediately begin treatment.

Williams captures first Top-50 win since 2019 over Giorgi

On Monday, at age 43 and ranked No. 697, Venus Williams showed she isn’t quite done playing tennis. She still enjoys a good challenge — especially on grass. Williams upset 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi of Italy, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) after more than three hours at the Birmingham Classic in England. It was her first victory over a player in the Top 50 in nearly four years.

Williams, a seven-time major titlist – including five Wimbledon crowns – has been out for six months because of a hamstring injury. She lost in her return last week to 17-year-old Celine Naef in the first round of the Libema Open in the Netherlands.

On Wednesday, Williams received a wild card entry into the main draw of this year’s Wimbledon Championships. She will be making her 24th appearance at the All England Club.

Vekic bonds with pandas at Zoo Berlin

On the eve of competing in the WTA 500 Bett1Open in Berlin, Croatia’s Donna Vekic visited the panda bears at Zoo Berlin. Vekic shared her trip with her fans via Instagram on Sunday, which was captured by Tennis.com‘s David Kane.

Break Point: Part 2 coming to Netflix June 21

Passing shots

• With Frances Tiafoe breaking into the Top 10 after winning the grass-court event in Stuttgart, he has now won titles on all three surfaces – hardcourt, clay and grass. After his title victory Sunday, Tiafoe told the ATP website: “I have now won a title on all three surfaces. It shows I can complete player and when I am locked in, I can compete on all three surfaces.”

Along with fellow American Taylor Fritz ranked eighth, the U.S. now has two men in the ATP Top 10 for the first time since May 7, 2012, when Mardy Fish was No. 9 and John Isner was No. 10.

Also, with Jessica Pegula (World No. 5) and Coco Gauff (No. 7) in the WTA Top 10, it is the first time there are multiple American men and women in the Top 10 at the same time since the week of Jan. 26, 2009.

• Daniil Medvedev became the first ATP Tour player to reach 40 victories after defeating Marcos Giron, 6-4, 6-3 in his opening-round match at Halle on Monday. By comparison, Iga Swiatek leads the WTA Tour with 35 wins. Medvedev has also won more titles than any player with five – at Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Miami and Rome.

By the numbers

With Andy Murray‘s ATP Challenger Tour title win in Nottingham on Sunday – his second grass-court title in two weeks, which extended his winning streak to 10 matches – his ranking this week improved to No. 38 from No. 44. It is Murray’s highest ranking since the week of April 23, 2018 – two months before he returned to the ATP Tour following his first hip surgery.

“Quotable …”

• “I have never played a tournament except Wimbledon on grass and I wanted to play here. I have watched this tournament on TV and I always thought it looked like a beautiful place to play and be. I am enjoying every single second.”

– Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, following his first-round win at Queen’s Club on Tuesday.

• “I cannot ask for more than this.”

– Kei Nishikori of Japan, after winning an ATP Challenger Tour crown at Palmas Del Mar on Sunday.

 

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