Alcaraz regains the number 1 position after winning the Queen’s Club Championships

Carlos Alcaraz won the final of the Queen’s Club Championships in London on Sunday for his first ATP title on grass and reclaimed the top spot, which will see him emerge as No. 1 at Wimbledon next month.

Despite struggling at times in the first set, Alcaraz defeated Alex De Minaur 6-4, 6-4 for his fifth title of the year and 11th overall.

That saw the 20-year-old Spaniard move above Novak Djokovic in the rankings and cemented the US Open champion as a serious challenger for the Serbian crown at Wimbledon. Alcaraz lost to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round last year.

“The odds don’t change that much. I mean, Novak is coming to Wimbledon,” Alcaraz said. “At the moment I feel better than at the beginning of the week, that’s clear.

“Of course, restoring the No. 1 for Wimbledon, it gives you extra motivation, it gives you extra confidence to come to Wimbledon. But it doesn’t change much if I play Wimbledon as the No. 2 or the No. 1.”

Sunday’s final was Alcaraz’s first on grass, in just the third tournament of his fledgling career on the ground.

He had to save two break points in the eighth game of the first set, broke in the next game and then served for the set.

Alcaraz won the only break point of the second set, when De Minaur made a double fault, and sealed the title on his first match point when the Australian sent in a long return.

“It means a lot to have my name on the trophy,” said Alcaraz. “It was special to play here where so many legends have won. It’s great to see my name surrounded by the great champions.”

Ostapenko beats Krejciková in Birmingham

Preventing a late comeback, Jelena Ostapenko defeated top-seeded Barbora Krejcíková in the Birmingham Classic final to win her second title on grass.

In a battle between the two top seed and former French Open champions, it was the second-seeded Latvian who came out on top, winning 7-6 (8), 6-4.

Krejcíková had not dropped a set all week before the championship match. But it was Ostapenko who secured a tight opening set on her fourth chance in the tiebreak.

Ostapenko then raced into a 5–1 lead to leave her on the brink of victory before Krejcíková responded by winning three games in a row.

“I was very close from 5-1 to 5-4, but then somehow I managed and I’m very happy with it,” said Ostapenko, who played four three-set matches before the final.

“I fought every match. I played five great matches, this was the only match in two sets. It’s a great preparation for Wimbledon and there are still a few things I can do better.”

It was Ostapenko’s sixth singles title and her second on grass after winning Eastbourne in 2021.

Bublik stuns Rublev in Halle Open

Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik upset Andrey Rublev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the final of the Halle Open.

Bublik, who had won eight of 27 games all year before this week, played a risky style that paid off with 42 winners – third-seeded Rublev had 23 – along with 21 aces.

“It really means everything to me,” Bublik said. “I’ve been wrestling for half a year… I don’t take it for granted. It was hard work.”

It is Bublik’s second career title after winning last year in Montpellier, with the player improving to a 2-6 record in tour-level finals, and his first win on grass after finishing second twice in Newport. He rises to a career-high 26th in the rankings after starting the week 48th.

Rublev drops to 13-8 in the final. The Russian is now second twice in Halle after losing to Ugo Humbert in the 2021 final.

Seventh-seeded Rublev will return to Wimbledon next month after missing last year’s edition of the grass court Grand Slam event when Russian and Belarusian players were ruled out following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Kvitová beats Vekić in the Berlin final

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová showed she is ready to try for a third title by beating Donna Vekić 6-2, 7-6 (6) to win the Berlin Open for her 31st career win.

Kvitová saved three of the four break points she faced and converted four of her five chances as she won the game in an hour and 41 minutes for her sixth title on grass. She has won 12 of her last 13 matches on the surface, going back to her title run at Eastbourne last season.

“Every time I play against you, you seem to go on and win the title,” Vekić told her experienced opponent. “At least this time it was in the final.”

Vekić had knocked out two top-10 opponents en route to the Berlin decider, No. 3 Elena Rybakina and No. 8 Maria Sakkari.

The 33-year-old Kvitová, who played in her 42nd final, completed the first set in 33 minutes on her debut in Berlin, but the second was not so easy. The Czech’s double foul gave Vekić the chance to break for a 2–1 lead.

Kvitová managed to break Vekić’s serve 5–4 as she won three games in a row, leaving Vekić 6–5 to stay in the match. She did, which led to the tiebreaker.

But Kvitová fought back despite trailing 3-1 in the tiebreak.

“I like grass,” Kvitová said. “I hope I come back next year.”

Only Venus Williams with 49 titles has won more titles among active players.