London, June 16 (EFE).- Carlos Alcaraz is set to return to court on Sunday to defend his title at Queen’s and Wimbledon a week after winning his maiden French Open title in Paris and taking a vacation for a few days in Ibiza.
The Murcian landed in London on Saturday, and after stopping by the house, where he would stay at Wimbledon, he went to the Queen’s Club to complete his first grass training of the season, which, however, lasted only for 20 minutes due to rain.
To extend his success on grass courts, Alcaraz decided to repeat what worked for him in 2023 when he rented a house five minutes walk from the All England Club and stayed there for a full month from the start of Queen’s to the end of Wimbledon.
The recipe is the same this year, as is giving a vacation to coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who will return for the start of Wimbledon – and training at Queen’s with Samuel Lopez, coach of the Equelite Academy.
Queen’s is a tournament that Alcaraz has always liked, due to the historical component it has, dating back to its first edition in 1881.
Andres Gimeno, Rafael Nadal, and Feliciano Lopez were among the other Spaniards to win the tournament at the club in the west of London, but none in successive years, something that Alcaraz would be aiming for this year.
Alcaraz got a tough draw to defend his title, lining up against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in the first round.
In the second round, he could face Jack Draper, a finalist this week in Stuttgart and one of the most dangerous rivals on this surface.
From there, Alcaraz can have Tommy Paul and Alejandro Davidovich in the quarterfinals, Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals, and 2023 finalist Alex de Minaur in the final.
The result at Queen’s will mark preparation for Wimbledon.
On June 28, Alcaraz will learn his path at Wimbledon, and at the same time, he will hold the traditional ‘media day’ at the All England Club.
At Wimbledon, he will start as the second seed and thus avoid a confrontation with Jannik Sinner until the final. EFE
msg/am
