By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Two weeks after his stellar championship run in the French Open, Carlos Alcaraz is back on track and began his grass surface season after suiting up in the Queen’s Club Championships tournament in West Kingston, London.
The 21-year-old Spanish ace surpassed his first test with flying colors after sweeping Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina- 6.1, 7.5- on June 18, 2024.
Despite coming off an exhausting campaign in Roland Garros while switching from the clay surface to grass, the three-time Grand Slam champion still emerged victorious and didn’t show any signs of slowing down.
Alcaraz quickly got off to a hot start after breaking the Argentinian twice in the first set, helping him build the much-needed momentum for the rest of the game.
Aside from scoring two crucial service breakpoints, Alcaraz also piled up the offense after pummeling Cerundolo in the baseline exchanges.
With a slower top-spin bounce in the grass surface compared to clay, Alcaraz wisely switched gears and threw several flat ball winners that caught Cerundolo off guard.
However, Cerundolo fought back in the following period and provided Alcaraz a huge scare after going toe-to-toe with him every set.
Cerundolo took care of his service possessions in the second set, resulting in several easy game point wins.
Just when the Argentinian thought he could level Alcaraz’s intensity, the young Spanish superstar stepped on the gas pedal in the final 15 minutes of the match and left Cerundolo behind with his tremendous court mastery.
Alcaraz put the crowd on their feet after capping off the huge win with a sweet drop shot and a booming forehand down-the-line winner.
With the win, Alcaraz just set up a showdown with Jack Draper in the second round of the ongoing the Queen’s Club Championships tournament.