Jun 17, 2025 10:17 PM IST TENNIS-LONDON/ (PIX, TV):Tennis-Alcaraz battles previous fortunate loser Walton to advance at Queen’s Club LONDON, – Top seed Carlos Alcaraz obtained his grasscourt marketing campaign up and working with a 6-4 7-6 victory over Australian Adam Walton to maneuver into the final 16 on the Queen’s Club Championships on Tuesday. HT Image Playing in his first match since his epic 5-1/2 hour French Open remaining victory over world primary Jannik Sinner 9 days in the past, Alcaraz was examined by Walton who had set factors within the second set earlier than the Spaniard recovered and gained the tiebreak. Alcaraz was meant to play compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina however the Spaniard withdrew attributable to sickness, giving fortunate loser Walton the prospect to play the French Open champion as he warmed up for his Wimbledon title defence. “I realised that I was going to play against Adam after my warm-up… He has played a few matches already before this one. I think he played really great tennis,” stated Alcaraz, the champion at Queen’s Club in 2023. “It surprised me a little bit. So I knew that I was going to struggle a little bit today, but just really happy to get the win. “I really feel tremendous comfortable to be again on grass. It is a particular floor, a particular place to me.” Walton is ranked number 86 in the world and the Australian did not seem overawed by the occasion as he showcased some attacking tennis to hold serve until Alcaraz finally got to grips with the surface and broke to take a 4-3 lead. Alcaraz used serve and volley to good effect, showing finesse with some exquisite drop shots while he was also virtually unstoppable on serve, sealing the opening set with an ace. But Walton held serve well in the second set and nearly broke Alcaraz with his first break points which were also set points when he was 5-4 up but the Spaniard held on. Once he forced a tiebreak, there was no looking back as Alcaraz wrapped up the contest. DRER ADVANCES Earlier, second seed Jack Draper warmed up the home crowd when he claimed an impressive 6-3 6-1 victory over American Jenson Brooksby for his first win on grass this season. Draper had beaten defending champion Alcaraz in the second round last year and the Briton is hoping to improve on his quarter-final run. “It’s tough coming onto the grass after clay, to adapt, I’m hitting the ball a bit late, behind schedule,” Draper said. “The extra matches and time I’ve on follow courts, I’ll get higher and higher. It’s positively a floor I actually get pleasure from enjoying on.” Australia’s fifth seed Alex de Minaur additionally bowed out of the match after a 6-4 6-2 loss to Jiri Lehecka whereas Alexei Popyrin beat Aleksandar Vukic 6-2 6-7 7-6 in an all-Australian battle. American sixth seed Ben Shelton, who had reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart final week, was additionally knocked out in a 7-6 7-6 loss to French qualifier Arthur Rinderknech. This article was generated from an automatic information company feed with out modifications to textual content. Stay up to date with the most recent sports activities information, together with newest headlines and updates from the Olympics 2024, the place Indian athletes will compete for glory in Paris. Catch all of the motion from tennis Grand Slam tournaments, observe your favorite soccer groups and gamers with the most recent match outcomes, and get the most recent on worldwide hockey tournaments and sequence. Stay up to date with the most recent sports activities information, together with newest headlines and updates from the Olympics 2024, the place Indian athletes will compete for glory in Paris. Catch all of the motion from tennis Grand Slam tournaments, observe your favorite soccer groups and gamers with the most recent match outcomes, and get the most recent on worldwide hockey tournaments and sequence. See Less
