Alcaraz beats Lehecka to seal second Queen's title

World number two Carlos Alcaraz held off a battling Jiri Lehecka to seal his second Queen's title with victory in an enthralling final on Sunday.

The Spaniard won 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 to take his 21st career title but was pushed hard by the in-form Lehecka, who was one of only five players to have beaten Alcaraz this year.

Lehecka had seen off British number one Jack Draper in the last four to secure his place in the final and initially looked unable to deal with the quality of Alcaraz in the first set.

But a much closer second set went the distance, with Lehecka overcoming the disappointment of being lobbed after a superb drop shot in the tie-break to then serve an ace and level the match.

Alcaraz, though, showed why he is such a formidable opponent as he recovered from that disappointment to step it up a gear in the third, breaking early on his way to securing the match and the title.

It was an 18th match win in a row for Alcaraz and a fifth title in 2025 to ensure he starts his bid for a third successive Wimbledon crown as a player in form.

"I'm happy to lift this trophy once again," Alcaraz said.

"It has been an incredible week. I came without expectations and just wanted to play good tennis and to get used to the grass.

"It's really special playing here every year and I can't wait to come back next year."

The speed at which Alcaraz raced through the third set showed just how difficult an opponent he is to face, given the momentum heading into the decider appeared to be with Lehecka.

The 23-year-old Czech had beaten Alcaraz in three sets in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in February and must have sensed a repeat after a brilliant display in the second-set tie-break.

There the Queen's crowd was treated to some incredible tennis and fans were on their feet when Alcaraz somehow returned a point he seemed certain to lose when he stretched to lob his opponent. Lehecka responded from that setback to hit an ace and take the set.

But Alcaraz was almost unplayable in the third set, dominating on his serve and hitting some excellent winners as he followed up this month's French Open victory with this success.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz had made a relatively slow start to the tournament as he acclimatised to grass after a long season on clay, but now looks completely comfortable on the surface in time for Wimbledon, which starts on 30 June.