Carlos Alcaraz watching Jannik Sinner closely – despite kickstarting Queen’s title defence

Oli Dickson Jefford 18 Jun 2024 6:18 PM

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates during his opening win at Queen's

Carlos Alcaraz fistpumps during his match.

Carlos Alcaraz will be watching world No 1 and chief rival Jannik Sinner’s matches from Halle this week – despite starting his own Queen’s Club campaign with victory.

Defending Queen’s champion and world No 2 Alcaraz rallied from 2-5 down in set two to claim a 6-1, 7-5 triumph on Tuesday versus Francisco Cerundolo – in his first match since his French Open victory.

Earlier in the day, Italian Sinner played his first grass match of the season at the Halle Open in Germany, rallying from a set down to defeat Tallon Griekspoor 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2.

Alcaraz could well have four more matches to contest in London this week but admitted post-match that he would be keeping an eye on Sinner’s form.

“As I said many times, I love watching him play. I mean, his style, it’s really amazing to watch,” said Alcaraz.

“He’s really aggressive. I love these kind of players. If I can, I’m gonna watch his matches for sure, and I’m going to follow the tournament in Halle and the tournament that they are playing right now – but it has to be a good time for me.”

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He may be keeping one eye on Sinner off-court, but on the court, it was full focus for the three-time major winner, who progressed to round two largely unscathed.

The first set for Alcaraz was a breeze on Tuesday, the Spaniard looking unshakeable, unflappable, and entirely unflustered, dropping just one game on his way to a commanding lead.

Things aren’t always straightforward with the world No 2 though – and it proved to be such a case against Cerundolo.

The Argentine’s level rose as his opponents dipped, and the reigning Eastbourne champion looked ready to force a decider after storming into a 5-2 lead.

Alcaraz, however, is so often at his best when he is behind – and Cerundolo learnt that to his cost.

After breaking his opponent’s serve at 5-3, the Spaniard saved two set points on his own serve, before completing a swing of five games in a row to triumph in straight sets.

Having only just picked up a racket back up on Friday after his Roland Garros win, Alcaraz was rightfully pleased with his performance.

The defending champion starts with a win #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/WMPrkmBywk

— cinch Championships (@QueensTennis) June 18, 2024

He commented: “I’m really happy with the level of everything in this first match. I mean, I practised just twice here, playing points on grass, so I had not too many days to track down my game on the grass.

“Coming here to my first match, I felt really well moving, hitting my shots. I think it was a really good first match on grass. A lot of things to improve, to be better, but in general I’m really happy with my performance today.

“The first set, it was unreal. He made a lot of mistakes in the first or second ball, so I couldn’t get a good rhythm. Then he started to play better, longer rallies, and he got into the match. I was a little bit surprised.

“So I had to stay there, trying to get my good rhythm, my good level, and I found it at the end of the second set.”

All eyes will be on Alcaraz’s next match – with Jack Draper his likely opponent in a potential round two blockbuster.