Over the past few months, the five-time Grand Slam champion has consistently noted that he plays his best tennis when he’s smiling and having fun on the court. 

It’s safe to say Alcaraz has been thoroughly enjoying his return to British soil and is hoping he can carry his positive attitude into tomorrow’s final.

“I can’t thank you (the crowd) enough for the support I’m receiving here at Queen’s since the first day. It’s been incredible, the energy I’m feeling when I step on the court and hear my name, they’re screaming.

"I feel great, I feel like I’m ready to start the match. Thank you for the support, for the energy that you have brought to me on the court since the first day – hopefully tomorrow, one more day!”

Czech star Lehecka has been nothing short of impressive so far this week and earned himself a well-deserved spot in Sunday’s final after edging a tight battle against the British No.1.

With the scoreboard tied at one set all in the semi-final clash, Lehecka looked to ramp up the pressure on the Brit’s serve. At 5-5 in the decider, the young star fired a forehand down the line to bring up two break points before grasping the breakthrough with a backhand into the corner of the court.

From then on, a spot in the final was within touching distance for the two-time ATP titleholder, who closed out victory on his first match point.

“It means a lot,” Lehecka said when asked what it means to reach the HSBC Championships final. “You don’t beat a player like Jack every day - he’s an amazing competitor.

“I want to say thank you to you guys (the crowd) for being fair today. I know your favourite didn’t win today but I really appreciate you being fair and clapping a few times when I hit a good ball.

The 23-year-old has been dominant on serve across the tournament so far and has played a crucial role in him dropping just one set across his matches against Alex de Minaur, Gabriel Diallo, Jacob Fearnley and Draper.

“It’s not easy to play without a serve, it’s something I’ve been working on in the last few weeks.

“I knew that with the transition from clay to grass I’d really need to use that shot a lot and that I’d need to create some chances with it. I’ve worked a lot on it and so I’m very happy it worked well today as well.”

HSBC Championships final: Carlos Alcaraz vs Jiri Lehecka

It’ll be a third career meeting between Alcaraz and Lehecka on Sunday with the head-to-head currently locked at one win each.

While it’s the Czech who won their most recent meeting in the Doha quarter-final back in February, the world No.2 claimed victory on their only other meeting on grass at The Queen's Club in 2023.

Despite being just 22-years-old, Alcaraz has amassed an astounding 20 ATP titles, with three of those coming on the grass, including two Wimbledon singles crowns.

The youngster has quickly established himself as one of the world’s best grass court players in recent years and has racked up a 28-3 win record on grass throughout his career. His only loss on the surface in two years came at last year’s tournament at Queen’s where he lost out in the second round to Draper.

Meanwhile, Lehecka has collected some standout results this year, including a standout win over world No.10 Grigor Dimitrov on his way to the title in Brisbane back in January.

Tomorrow’s final will mark the biggest ATP Tour final of the Czech’s career and although he’s yet to clinch a win on grass against a top 10 player, he’ll be hoping to cause yet another upset against the top seed on finals day.  

How to watch the HSBC Championships final

Live coverage of the HSBC Championships final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jiri Lehecka will be shown live across BBC TV, iPlayer and BBC Sport.