Carlos Alcaraz has often emphasized the importance of vacationing and taking a break, speaking about how it helps get recharged for the next tournament. Following his successful Roland Garros title defense and a ritualistic trip to Ibiza, the Spaniard has now added another title under his belt at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Alcaraz is on an 18-match win streak across two surfaces. His victory at Queen’s is special for many reasons. It is his fifth title of the year, and with this triumph he has now had three consecutive seasons of winning a title on every surface, gradually cementing his place as one of the greatest all-surface players. However, Alcaraz has had his low points too this year in the first quarter of the season, which he opened up about at the press conference following his Queen’s victory:
I received a lot of hate when I lost in Miami. Instead of training after that, I took a break and went to Cancun with my family, and I faced a lot of hate then because many people started to say things like: ‘What is up with this guy who just lost in the first round, didn’t train, didn’t go to the court and kept practicing to get better?’
Despite winning the Rotterdam Open title in the hard court swing, Alcaraz had a disappointing run in other tournaments, particularly the Miami Open, where he faced a shocking opening round exit, losing to David Goffin. He also faced a lot of criticism during this period.
That was the key, just having five or six free days, without touching a racket, without stepping onto the court. Going on vacation with my family, disconnecting, thinking about what I should have done better. After Miami, after the vacation I spent in Cancun with my family, I regained my joy and started to enjoy playing tennis again, enjoy stepping onto the court, competing again.
A vacation to Cancun, Mexico, with his family following the loss helped him recover, and he soon made a strong start to his clay swing, winning the Monte Carlo Masters, which propelled him back to the World No. 2 ranking. Since the victory at Monte Carlo, Alcaraz has had a highly consistent performance. Alcaraz has now also narrowed the gap on the rankings table, as he has 9,300 points, while Jannik Sinner sits on the top with 10,430 points.
Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible record on grass
Carlos Alcaraz now has four titles on grass and a staggering 91% match win rate on this surface. This puts Alcaraz ahead of legends like Roger Federer (87%), Novak Djokovic (86%), and Rod Laver (85%). He became the third Spaniard to win four titles on this surface after his idol, Rafael Nadal, and Feliciano Lopez. This title win also adds Alcaraz to an elite list of active players with four or more grass titles. The World No. 2 joins Djokovic, Matteo Berrettini, Taylor Fritz, and Nicolas Mahut in this list.
Carlos Alcaraz (image via Instagram)
Alcaraz won his maiden grass title at Queen’s 2023, where he defeated Alex de Minaur in the finals, and then went on to win his second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2023, defeating defending champion Djokovic in the finals. Alcaraz defended his Wimbledon title the next year, once again defeating Djokovic in the finals.
Alcaraz won the Queen’s tournament this year by defeating Jiri Lehecka in three sets in the final. Although the 22-year-old is an all-surface player, amassing big titles on all three, grass is arguably his best surface, followed by clay and hard court. Five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz will now enter Wimbledon as a strong favorite, where he will be aiming for a three-peat, a feat accomplished by Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Federer, and Djokovic so far.
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