Carlos Alcaraz’s start to the grass season got off to a bumpy start after he was forced to bounce back from a set down to win his first round match at the Cinch Championships.
The world No.2 struggled to find his footing early on in his clash with French lucky loser Arthur Rinderkech who didn’t know he had a place in the main draw until this morning. Alcaraz held his nerve to prevail 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3), in what was a roller-coaster match that lasted more than two-and-a-half hours. He has now won 36 out of 40 matches played on the Tour so far this season.
“It was a really tough match. He (Rinderkech) had played four, five matches on the grass and this was my first one,” Alcaraz said afterwards.
“It was tough for me at the beginning to adapt my tennis to the grass. For me, it was tough playing here but also I enjoy playing on the grass. It was a good performance from me for my first match.”
Alcaraz was set to play Arthur Fils but the Frenchman pulled out on the day of their meeting which paved the way for Rinderknech to make his way into the main draw. Taking to the grass for the first time this season, the world No.2 lacked the flow in his game which he had displayed in recent months on the Tour. Midway through the opener, a lacklustre service game from the Spaniard saw him produce four unforced errors which gifted a break to the underdog. Alcaraz did manage to break back in the following game with a winning passing shot but his lack of consistency proved costly. Trailing 4-5, a forehand error handed his French rival a set point which he managed to convert with the help of some deep hitting towards the baseline.
Rinderkech, who is currently ranked 83rd in the world, had a 0-6 record against top 10 opposition heading into Queen’s. However, the 27-year-old never looked intimidated on the court as he continued to apply pressure on the reigning US Open champion. At one stage of the match, Rinderkech was just four points away from a shock win.
Alcaraz turned his fortunes around late in the second set with a help of a forehand passive shot that enabled him to break for a 6-5 lead. He then took the match into a decider by hitting a backhand crosscourt winner on set point.
The drama continued into the final set with both players exchanging breaks early on before heading into a tiebreaker where Alcaraz exerted his dominance by winning six out of the first seven points played. After failing to convert two match points, he converted his third with a clean forehand winner.
“I have never played a tournament outside of Wimbledon on grass. I wanted to play here (at Queen’s). I watched this tournament on TV and always thought it was a beautiful place to play at,” the top seed commented.
“I’m enjoying every single second. The crowd was amazing. The court is unbelievable.”
Alcaraz is bidding to become only the third man from his country to win the Queen’s title over the past 20 years after Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez. In the last 16, he will play Jiri Lehecka who beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(4), 6-4.
“Even though this is my first match (on grass) I feel really good. I feel great with my shots and movement. I’m going to be better in my next round,” he stated.
