Carlos Alcaraz downs Sebastian Korda to reach Queen's Club Championships final
Jun 25, 2023
London [UK], June 25 : The World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz moved into Queen's Club Championships final with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Sebastian Korda on Saturday.
Alcaraz will face Alex de Minaur in Sunday's final at The Queen's Club in London.
Alcaraz's victory over World No. 32 Korda increased his season record to 27-1 against players outside the Top 20. He has reached the semi-finals or higher in eight of the nine tournaments he has entered this year.
Alcaraz won the sole break point in the second set after a wild first set that featured three breaks of serve on 13 chances. The 20-year-old converted three of his nine total break opportunities, saving four of five break points against him in the first set.
Korda had six double faults, including many at crucial points in the first set. Alcaraz exploited the American's slice as well, sprinting around it and blasting forehands at every opportunity.
"Right now I feel like I'm playing for 10 years on grass, it's something crazy for me. I didn't expect to adapt my movement, my game so fast on grass. I'm really happy with that," ATP quoted Alcaraz as saying.
"I'm playing great, I'm feeling great. I'm really happy to play here in Queen's. Since the first match, I feel the love from the crowd. I would say that it's impossible to win these kind of matches without them, without the energy they bring to me," the Spaniard assessed, saying that this was the best match of his young grass-court career.
Alcaraz will need that stamina again in the final against De Minaur, who overcame Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6(2) earlier in the day. The pair's previous ATP Head2Head clash was a classic in last year's Barcelona semi-finals. Alcaraz won the title on home soil with a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 triumph in a three-hour, 40-minute marathon.
"It's going to be a big challenge for me. His game is really good on grass. He serves so flat. He's going to be very dangerous here on grass," Alcaraz said of the final matchup.
"But I think about myself, I'm thinking about my game. I will try to put my game in the match. I will try not to think about the opponent. Just enjoy the final, enjoy playing here and let's see what happens," the Spaniard added.
