HSBC Championships 2025: Carlos Alcaraz ousts Jiri Lehecka to claim second title at The Queen’s Club

While he missed out on the chance to claim the title, it's been a breakthrough week on the grass for Lehecka, who reached his first final on the surface and became the second Czech man to reach the Queen's final in the Open Era since Ivan Lendl in 1989-90.

The two-time ATP titleholder will rise back up to world No.25 when the rankings update tomorrow, just three places off his career-high of No.22.

“It's tough for me to find some words now but of course, I’m super happy I had the chance today to fight for a title," he reflected.

"Well done to Carlos and your team for doing a great job as always. I gave everything I had today but unfortunately it wasn’t enough but it’s always great to be back in Queen’s.”

The two-time Wimbledon champion won an astonishing 82% of service points across the match (68/83) and clinched three holds to love in the opening set as he rattled through his service games unscathed.

Equally, the Czech’s serve has been one of the standout elements of his game at the Queen’s Club this week but it took a while for him to adapt to the breezy conditions in West London, with his first serve percentage sitting at just 50% in the opening set.

That said, he managed to dig out the big serves in the high-pressure moments, fending off his first break point at 2-2 with an ace.

A second opportunity soon presented itself for the top seed, who looked to make his move late on with the scoreboard locked at 5-5. The Spaniard made six consecutive returns and was rewarded with a 40-30 lead after Lehecka drifted a backhand beyond the baseline.

The pressure began to mount on Lehecka, and with Alcaraz looking to attack the Czech’s second serve, he went on to secure the decisive breakthrough after the world No.30 sent a forehand into the net.

The pair continued to go toe-to-toe in front of a full Andy Murray Arena but neither managed to grab a foothold of the second set as we headed into a tie-break.

Despite being the first to concede the mini-break, that didn’t stop the Spaniard from pulling out the world class shots we’ve become so accustomed to seeing.

After scrambling to the tramlines to retrieve a volley from Lehecka, the world No.2 sprinted back to the open court to send a lob over his opponent to pull back level. However, a costly double fault instantly handed the world No.30 the lead once again and he went on to settle the scoreboard at one set apiece.

In the third game of the decider, an opening showed for the two-time defending Wimbledon champion to wrestle control of the match as he dug up two break points.

The reigning Brisbane Open champion managed to hold his nerve to fend off the first before Lehecka sent a forehand into the net to hand the 2023 HSBC Championships winner the break and eventually a 4-1 lead.

Eager to escape having to serve out the match, Alcaraz turned up the intensity on the return as an inside out forehand brought up two match points. Rallied on by a sea of British crowds, the world No.2 sealed his victory as his opponent returned a backhand into the net.

Alcaraz heads into Wimbledon having only lost five matches so far this year and is currently on an 18 match winning streak, following his run to the silverware at the Rome Masters, Roland Garros and now HSBC Championships.