Carlos Alcaraz Advances To Quarterfinal Of Queen's Club Championships

Young Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the quarterfinal at the ongoing Queen's Club Championships on Thursday. He defeated Arthur Rinderknech by 6-2, 6-3 to reach his first grass court quarterfinal. "I'm really happy with the level that I played today. Jiri is a great opponent, great shots," the Spaniard said in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP. "He has a great game on grass. I am really happy with the level. I think I had a really solid match. I played my game, I enjoyed playing here and I am really happy with my first quarter-final here in Queen's," he added.

The 20-year-old had a 4-2 tour-level record on grass at the beginning of the week, but he is quickly gaining confidence on the surface. Alcaraz prevailed in one hour and 25 minutes to set up a matchup in the round of eight against either Francisco Cerundolo, the eighth seed, or former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov.

The Spaniard had some significant challenges at one point. He had three break points at 3-1 in the second set. Lehecka lost two of his chances due to errors on his forehand returns and short forehands, and Alcaraz ended the other opportunity with a forehand winner. In the entire game, he only encountered those two break points.

"After this match, after this level, the expectations change. I think I am ready to do a good result here on grass. Playing my first quarter-final here, I am going to enjoy it of course. It is a really beautiful place to play, so I am enjoying every single second here and of course, I will go into the next round with a lot of confidence and I will go for it," said Alcaraz.

This week, Alcaraz is aiming for more than just his maiden victory on a grass court. He will retake control of Novak Djokovic's