Alcaraz claims 250th win, surges into Queen's Club final

London Queens Club

Alcaraz claims 250th win, surges into Queen's Club final

Spaniard owns a Tour-leading 42 wins and four titles in 2025

Getty Images Carlos Alcaraz in action on Saturday in London. By Jerome Coombe

Carlos Alcaraz captured his 250th tour-level win in style Saturday at the HSBC Championships, where he sealed his return to the Queen’s Club final.

The top-seeded Spaniard delivered a classy showing to sink countryman Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 and extend his winning streak to 17 matches. Alcaraz, who triumphed on his Queen’s Club debut in 2023, is the third fastest man to reach 250 wins among players that began their career in the Open Era.

“I just feel that I’m playing great tennis and feeling more comfortable after each match,” said Alcaraz, who improved to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Bautista Agut. “Making the final here at Queen’s once again is so special, so I guess grass mode is activated.”

Fewest matches played to earn 250 tour-level wins in Open Era (players that debuted in Open Era)

Player W-L at 250th win John McEnroe 250-57 Rafael Nadal 250-60 Carlos Alcaraz 250-61 Boris Becker 250-69 Ivan Lendl 250-71 Mats Wilander 250-71

By improving to 26-1 since his shock opening-round defeat to David Goffin at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami, Alcaraz is into his fifth consecutive final. He will face Jiri Lehecka, who upset second seed and home favourite Jack Draper 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

In Saturday’s semi-final clash with the 37-year-old Bautista Agut, it took until just the fifth point for Alcaraz to pull out his bag of tricks: Heading for the back fence to chase down a pinpoint lob, Alcaraz responded with a near-perfect ‘tweener attempt, but Bautista Agut did well to put it away with a clinical smash.

However, Alcaraz’s showmanship continued throughout the opening set, which he fittingly closed out with a sumptuous drop volley that trickled just milimetres over the net before stopping dead. It forged a smile from both players, but Alcaraz remained in control during the second set, in which he saved the only break point he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I always say that I love playing tennis, I love stepping on the court and putting on a show for the crowd, making them enjoy watching my games,” said Alcaraz. “Every time I put a smile on my face, I show my best tennis, so I try to do that. That’s why I’m getting good results.”

Alcaraz, who owns a Tour-leading 42 wins and four titles this season, will hope to have that smile on his face during Sunday’s final. He will face a stern test from Lehecka, who has been displaying supreme grass-court tennis all week, having dropped serve on just one occasion.

The 23-year-old Lehecka will also be able to gain confidence from their most previous meeting in Doha, where he upset the Spaniard in the quarter-finals to level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1.

Alcaraz is now 2,070 points clear of second-placed Jannik Sinner in the PIF ATP Live Race To Tuin, which is an indicator as to who will claim the ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours.

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