“I feel at home every time that I play on grass,” said Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday while expressing his honest feelings after clinching a fifth overall title this season. At Queen’s Club, the World No.2 and 2025 French Open champion bested Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka in the summit clash to win the ATP 500 grass event for the second time. Despite his best efforts to clinch the trophy, Lehecka had no reply to Alcaraz’s court domination. He could only watch him emerge as the ultimate victor. The Spaniard won his fourth-straight title, making it his fifth win of the season in fashion against Lehecka, which has now drawn a Serena Williams parallel.

The former World No.1 and five-time slam king showed his mettle on the grass once again. He proved that for him to make a smooth transition from clay is no big deal. And he made it evident in a compelling performance against Lehecka. After snatching the first set 7-5, he lost the next one 6-7(5) as the Czechian tried to make a come back. And he was looking tough before Alcaraz fought back in the decider to clinch the match with a final score line of 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2.

It was not easy for Lehecka to digest this loss. He didn’t play bad. But Alcaraz’s in a league of his own, going through the form of his life in the last month-and-a-half. No one seems good enough to stop him. During an episode of the Tennis Channel live podcast, former American pro Andy Roddick mentioned that Lehecka was more or less helpless against a superior Alcaraz. Coco Vandeweghe agreed with him saying, “I get what you’re saying, Andy, and it’s right on the nose of when you play these greats.” She then brought Serena Williams’ example while sharing her own experience. Similar to Lehecka, she also found it tough to match the 23-time slam champion’s skills in the past. “And for me, that was playing against Serena. You have that one hiccup for a second where you missed two points on your own service game.” Vandeweghe lost every time she faced Williams in her career. The latter eventually amassed a 3-0 H2H record.

Coming back Lehecka, Vandeweghe added, “We saw Lehecka do that serving at five all. There’s the break, two backhand unforced errors. And Carlos is just working so hard, making so many returns.” Concluding her remarks, she said, “It’s just, you go into the locker room, and you go with the second place trophy, and you’re like, man, that first place should be mine, but I’m playing what’s soon to be one of the greatest of all times.”

Meanwhile, Alcaraz has now extended his match win streak to 18. In the last one month, he’s captured the Italian Open, the Roland Garros crown, and now the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club. Ahead of the Wimbledon, you can’t get a better momentum than this. According to him, making a quick change to grass was hardly difficult.

Carlos Alcaraz speaks on his transition to grass ahead of the Wimbledon

You won’t really believe what Carlos Alcaraz said after becoming the Queen’s Club champion. While fans witnessed him dominating the grass court in the last week, the former World No.1 wasn’t even thinking to win the title. Really? So what was going in his mind during the campaign in London?

“I came here with no expectations at all. I just came here with a goal to play two, three matches, (trying0 to feel great on grass moving, and give myself the feedback of what I had to improve, what I had to do better.” reported ATP Tour’s website on June 23.

While he seemed comfortable on the Parisian clay few weeks back, stepping on the grass was no hard task. He continued, “I just got used to the grass really quick, and I’m just really proud about it. My goal was complete, and I’m not talking about lifting the trophy or making the final. It was just to feel great, to feel really comfortable on grass once again,”

Going into the Wimbledon, Alcaraz’s confidence will be sky high. He’s already won there two times (2023 and 2024). If he pulls off a three-peat this season, he will become the first ATP player, since Novak Djokovic, to clinch the Gentlemen’s trophy in three straight editions. The 24-time slam king was the last man to achieve such feat. He emerged as the champion on four successive occasions (2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022). The event in 2020 was canceled due to Covid.

Interestingly, in the last two editions, too, he was in the final. But Alcaraz eventually bested him. Will there be a possibility for them to meet again in the summit clash? Only time will tell. What are your thoughts on the Spaniard’s prospects going into the All England Club? Let us know in the comments below.