Carlos Alcaraz fittingly reclaimed the crown of world No. 1 on Sunday with his win in the Queen’s Club Championships final, and set the stage to be the top seed at Wimbledon.
The Queen’s Club Championships was his first ATP title on grass in his career and will now enter Wimbledon as the second youngest man to hold the No. 1 seed in the Open era since Boris Becker did it at the age of 19 in 1987, according to ESPN.
Alcaraz defeated Aussie Alex De Minaur 6-4, 6-4 to win his fifth title of the year.
The 20-year-old Spanard now poses the biggest challenge for last year’s winner and world No. 2, Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz, who won the 2022 US Open, fell in the fourth round last summer at Wimbledon.
“The chances don’t change so much. I mean, Novak is coming to Wimbledon,” Alcaraz said, according to ESPN. “Right now, I’m feeling better than the beginning of the week, that’s obvious.”
“Of course, recovering the No. 1 before Wimbledon, it gives you extra motivation, it gives you extra confidence coming into Wimbledon. But it doesn’t change too much if I play Wimbledon as the No. 2 or the No. 1,” he added.
Djokovic appeared to issue a warning to those looking to dethrone him at Wimbledon this year in an Instagram post.
He posted a video of himself eating the grass at Wimbledon and captioned the post, “remembering the taste and hungry for more.”
The last time Alcaraz and Djokovic met on the court was in the semifinals of the French Open, where the now No. 2 got the best of the 20-year-old to reach the final.
Djokovic went on to take home his 23rd Grand Slam and third French Open title over Norway’s Casper Ruud, 7-6 (7-1,) 6-3, 7-5.
In doing so, Djokovic broke a tie with Rafael Nadal who has 22 Grand Slam victories.
The loss for Ruud marked a 0-5 record against Djokovic and has yet to win a set against him.
Alcaraz may prove to did not drop a single set in his final four matches at the Queen’s Club Championships.
“It means a lot to have my name on the trophy,” Alcaraz said. “It was special to play here where so many legends have won. To see my name surrounded by the great champions is amazing.”
The Wimbledon qualifying rounds begin on Monday.
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