Carlos Alcaraz faces Alex De Minaur in the final at Queen’s Championship on Sunday. The tournament has been blessed with some scorching weather across the week and fans will see the world No.2 now attempt to win his first-ever ATP trophy on grass, following wins over ArthurRinderknech, JiriLehecka, GrigorDimitrov in the quarters and Sebastian Korda in the semis.
In his way is Australian star De Minaur, ranked No18, with one minor win on grass to his name from 2021. More recently and more impressively, he won the Mexican Open in February, his first title at the ATP500 level. Along the way there he beat Holger Rune and Tommy Paul to triumph, while he again beat Rune in the semis here at Queen’s on Saturday.
Now comes a big test for both as they attempt to lay down their grass-court credentials ahead of Wimbledon. Follow the final at Queen’s live below:
QUEEN’S FINAL LIVE – Alcaraz vs De Minaur
Queen’s final first set: Alcaraz* 2-2 de Minaur
13:56 , Karl Matchett
A magnificent lob from de Minaur sends Alcaraz right to the baseline and the attempted shot through the legs doesn’t quite clear the net.
The crowd delight in a couple of spectacular attempts and the fact they’re quickly getting their money’s worth in terms of a sense of occasion and quality.
A more routine rally then ensues and several massive forehands from Alcaraz has de Minaur scampering all over – the Spaniard tucks one away eventually and takes the game for 2-2.
Queen’s final first set: Alcaraz 1-2 de Minaur*
13:51 , Karl Matchett
A series of big serves from de Minaur are too much for Alacaraz to return and the Australian races into a 40-0 lead.
Another attempted Alcaraz drop shot doesn’t come off well enough, de Minaur races across and clips one toward the line which the Spaniard cannot return. Game to love.
Queen’s final first set: Alcaraz* 1-1 De Minaur
13:49 , Karl Matchett
The reverse on show. De Minaur claims a couple of points but Alcaraz fires back and wins his service in pretty routine fashion.
Queen’s final first set: Alcaraz 0-1 de Minaur*
13:46 , Karl Matchett
From love-30 down, de Minaur holds his serve. Fine work from him to work back into the game in calm fashion and win the first.
Queen’s final first set: Alcaraz 0-0 De Minaur*
13:45 , Karl Matchett
Two big serves but well-returned by Alcaraz, making his case very quickly that the Australian will have to be at his absolute best today to triumph.
Alcaraz whips one across court and then goes to play his first patented drop-shot…but it falls short, into the net. An unnecessary mis-step and de Minaur wins three in a row.
Another fantastic rally ensues and Alcaraz just about does enough to win – we’re at deuce.
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:41 , Karl Matchett
Time to get underway! A packed house at Queen’s and all those people basking in the sunshine.
De Minaur to serve first – here we go.
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:39 , Karl Matchett
Plenty of cheers for De Minaur as the players are announced, but definitely more of them – and louder ones – for Carlos Alcaraz.
A win today and he returns to world No1 status, remember.
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:30 , Karl Matchett
Alex de Minaur ahead of play:
“I wasn’t born the strongest bloke around so I had to look in the mirror and see the parts of my game which had to improve to make me a top player.
“Facing Andy Murray in the first round, my thought was I get to play on centre court! It was a great opportunity to showcase where I’m at and I knew it was going to be tough – but a good way to start the week.”
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:28 , Karl Matchett
Warmups just about complete and we’re almost ready to go.
Lots of talk about Alcaraz’s attacking stance from the baseline and his propensity to play a wonderful drop shot.
Can De Minaur cope with that all-round style today? The improvement on grass this week has been astonishing from the young Spaniard.
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:20 , Karl Matchett
Around ten minutes until play starts at Queen’s.
The last triumphs for both of these players were not long ago; Australian De Minaur won the Mexican Open in February – an event Alcaraz withdrew from, having been seeded for.
Of late, the Spaniard has won the Indian Wells Masters in March and completed a domestic double in his homeland, the Barcelona Open in April and the Madrid Open in May. The latter two were on clay; can he now win on grass too?
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:15 , Karl Matchett
Here’s how both men reached the final this week:
Alcaraz
RO32 vs A. Rinderknech, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6
RO16 vs J. Lehecka, 6-2, 6-3
QF vs G. Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-4
SF vs S. Korda, 6-3, 6-4
De Minaur
RO32 vs A. Murray, 6-3, 6-1
RO16 vs D. Schwartzman, 6-2, 6-2
QF vs A. Mannarino, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
SF vs H. Rune, 6-3, 7-6
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:10 , Karl Matchett
Full Order of Play for Sunday 25 June
Centre Court
Starts at 13:30 BST
Carlos Alcaraz vs Alex de Minaur
Followed by men’s doubles final
Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka vs Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek
Court 1 – Wheelchair Championships
Starts At 12:00 Noon BST
Alfie Hewett vs Joachim Gerard
Followed by men’s doubles final
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid vs Joachim Gerard and Stephane Houdet
Queen’s Club Championships final
13:06 , Karl Matchett
Latest odds on today’s final:
To win:
Alcaraz 3/10
De Minaur 3/1
To win 2-0:
Alcaraz 17/20
De Minaur 13/2
Alex De Minaur beats Holger Rune to reach first final at Queen’s
13:02 , Karl Matchett
Alex De Minaur reached his first final at Queen’s Club after a grass-court masterclass against Holger Rune at the cinch Championships.
The 24-year-old ‘Demon’ roared to a 6-3 7-6 (2) victory to become the first Australian to make the final since Lleyton Hewitt won his fourth title in 2006.
De Minaur, the boyfriend of Britain’s Katie Boulter, is a proven performer on the grass; he is a former Eastbourne champion and also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.
Danish rising star Rune, by contrast, remains a work in progress on grass. His win over Maxime Cressy on Tuesday was the first of his career on the surface.
Full report on De Minaur’s impressive run:
Alex De Minaur beats Holger Rune to reach first final at Queen’s
Carlos Alcaraz fires a Wimbledon warning to reach Queen’s final
12:56 , Karl Matchett
Carlos Alcaraz arrived at Queen’s not knowing it was possible to reclaim the World No 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic and secure the top seed slot ahead of Wimbledon. But as the week has progressed, the 20-year-old has found his feet on grass with impressive speed, and the Spaniard now stands on the brink of a statement victory that will send a warning to the rest of the field at the All England Club next month – including the man looking to win a record-equalling eighth singles title.
Alcaraz’s level has improved day-by-day and he has now reached his first grass-court final, a showdown with the Australian Alex de Minaur. After looking uncomfortable adjusting to the surface in his opening victory against Arthur Rinderknech, Alcaraz has progressed superbly while appearing to unlock a new skill or ability with each win. At first it was the movement, with Alcaraz studying film of Roger Federer and Andy Murray to improve his footwork. In the semi-finals against Sebastian Korda, it was his vicious forehand strike, which dismantled Korda’s big serve and looked close to unstoppable during some of the baseline exchanges.
The rate of Alcaraz’s progress has stunned even him. This is only the third tournament he’s played on grass, and only his second event outside of Wimbledon. He may have been given the top seeding at Queen’s after arriving in West London as a major champion and the youngest world No 1 in history, but other players in the field with a more natural grass game – such as the American Korda – were considered to be stronger favourites for the title.
More on Alcaraz’s run to the final from Jamie Braidwood here:
Carlos Alcaraz fires a Wimbledon warning to reach Queen’s final
Queen’s final order of play, start time and more
12:50 , Karl Matchett
Carlos Alcaraz is through to his first grass-court final after defeating the big-serving Sebastian Korda in straight sets at Queen’s Club.
The 20-year-old Spaniard is enjoying his best-ever run on grass ahead of Wimbledon and produced his most impressive performance of the week so far to triumph against Korda 6-3 6-4.
Alcaraz will reclaim World No 1 from Novak Djokovic and can take the Wimbledon top seed if he wins his first grass-court title in West London this afternoon.
Alex de Minaur awaits after defeating Holger Rune in straight sets in the other semi-final. De Minaur is the first Australian to reach the Queen’s final since former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt and has been in excellent form since defeating Andy Murray in the opening round.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the Queen’s final?
Queen’s Club Championships final
12:42 , Karl Matchett
Good afternoon and welcome to the Independent’s live coverage of the Queen’s Club Championships final, with Carlos Alcaraz today facing Alex De Minaur.
Play is set to get underway from 1:30pm BST; we’ll have all the buildup on the way and every moment of the live action itself right here.
It’s another scorcher in London so perhaps it’s suitable that we have men from Spain and Australia on show, both well-prepared and well-used to blazing sunshine.