Alcaraz sets up Queen's final clash with Lehecka (0.2052505966587112)
<img src="https://thesun.my/binrepository/400x279/0c0/400d225/none/11808/PXOJ/tennis-atp-gbr-queens-165725_5344771_20250622071740.jpg"><p></p><p><b>CARLOS</b> Alcaraz reached the Queen's Club final for the second time as the world number two eased to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday.</p><p>Alcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 17 matches in a semi-final played in sweltering conditions at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.</p><p>The five-time Grand Slam champion hit 36 winners and 15 aces to dispatch his fellow Spaniard in 90 minutes.</p><p>Top seeded Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka in Sunday's final after the Czech world number 30's shock 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win against British star Jack Draper in the other semi-final.</p><p>Playing his first tournament since his epic French Open victory against Jannik Sinner two weeks ago, the 22-year-old is through to his fifth successive final after lifting titles on clay in Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Monte Carlo.</p><p>Alcaraz signalled his emergence as a grass-court force by winning Queen's in 2023, clinching the Wimbledon title for the first time just weeks later and defending his All England Club crown last year.</p><p>He is one victory away from becoming only the second Spaniard to win Queen's twice, after Feliciano Lopez's victories in 2017 and 2019.</p><p>Alcaraz wasted little time taking control against Bautista Agut, unfurling a deft drop-shot to break in the third game of the match.</p><p>That was all the encouragement Alcaraz needed as he held serve with ease to close out the first set.</p><p>Bautista Agut, 37, enjoyed a surprise win over Danish fourth seed Holger Rune in the last eight.</p><p>But Alcaraz never looked like suffering the same fate and he delivered the knockout blow in the second set.</p><p>A whipped forehand down the line earned a break-point that he converted to move 3-2 ahead.</p><p>The nerveless Alcaraz finished off the win in typically ruthless fashion to the delight of the fans waving Spanish flags to salute their hero.</p><p><b></b></p><p><b>'You have no choice' </b></p><p></p><p>Earlier, Lehecka ended Draper's bid for a maiden Queen's final appearance.</p><p>Lehecka, who will be playing in his first ATP grass-court final, is the first Czech to reach the men's title match at Queen's since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990.</p><p>The 23-year-old said: “It means a lot. You don’t meet a player like Jack every day, he’s an amazing competitor.”</p><p>Draper was hoping to become the first British singles champion at Queen's since five-time winner Andy Murray's most recent victory in 2016.</p><p>But the world number six will have to wait at least another year to get his hands on the silverware after claiming a bout of tonsillitis played a role in his defeat.</p><p>“I haven’t felt good all week. I’m proud of the way I went about things, considering, but it’s tough,“ he said.</p><p>“You’re an entertainer, an athlete, and you have no choice. No one cares, you know. So you’ve just got to go out there and do the best you can.</p><p>“Today’s probably the worst I’ve felt. Did I think about withdrawing? No, not at all. I’m in the semi-finals at Queen’s. I’d probably go on court with a broken leg.”</p><p>Lehecka had already ended the hopes of one Briton at Queen's after beating Jacob Fearnley in the quarter-finals on Friday.</p><p>He also defeated world number 12 Alex de Minaur in his opening match of the tournament, but knocking out Draper was his biggest scalp yet.</p>
