De Minaur eases past Rune to reach Queen's final

LONDON : Australia's Alex de Minaur reached the final of the Queen's Club Championships with a 6-3 7-6(2) defeat of Danish second seed Holger Rune on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Rune had not dropped a set on the way to the semi-finals but found the livewire De Minaur a step too far as he fell short of his first final on grass.

De Minaur will face either Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz or unseeded American Sebastian Korda in Sunday's final.

Alcaraz will reclaim the world number one ranking if he wins the prestigious Queen's title which would ensure he would be the top seed at Wimbledon which starts on July 3.

World number 18 De Minaur, who put out home favourite Andy Murray earlier in the week, is aiming for his second career title on grass having won at Eastbourne in 2021.

He is the first Australian to reach the final at the pre-Wimbledon event since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.

Two breaks of serve allowed him to cruise through the first set but he was pushed much harder in the second with both players forced to save break points.

But De Minaur's greater experience on the slick lawns showed as he polished off the tiebreak.

"I play pretty decent on the grass, I love playing on this court," he said. "Today was my best match so far this week. I just hope that I can go one better tomorrow."