Sunday, June 15

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Queen’s Club Championships first-round match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, including predictions, form and their head-to-head record.

Carlos Alcaraz returns to competitive action after the French Open in Tuesday's Queen's Club Championships first-round match against countryman Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Although the 2023 Queen’s champion is the favourite to win the all-Spanish tournament opener, the five-time Grand Slam champion will remain cautious of his compatriot, who aims to be third-time lucky after narrow defeats in their first two matchups on the ATP Tour

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Match preview

The dust has hardly settled on Alcaraz’s successful title defence at Roland Garros, and now the Spanish sensation must refocus to begin the short grass season in preparation for a possible Wimbledon three-peat.

The Queen’s Club holds tremendous sentiment for the 22-year-old, whose first of three titles on grass came in West Kensington two years ago when he defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets in 2023.

While last year’s title defence barely got off the ground, winning the crown two years ago served as the springboard Alcaraz needed to upset Novak Djokovic in the Championships; he then repeated the feat 12 months later in the 2024 final, this time outclassing the 24-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets.

The Spaniard makes another appearance in the London ATP 500 event on a 13-match winning streak, having last lost to Holger Rune in Barcelona, and that defeat remains the world No. 2’s only loss in his last 23 matches on tour.

The top seed in Queen's begins his third appearance boasting a 6-1 record at the ATP 500 event and aims to enhance that positive record and his overall 24-3 grass-court record to advance to the second round contest against Jordan Thompson or fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar.

Facing a motivated Davidovich Fokina could present challenges for the No. 1 seed, especially after the high of a second French Open success.

However, the world No. 27 will know that the 2023 champion will not offer him gifts in Tuesday’s matchup, as he aims to improve a career 6-10 record on grass.

Coincidentally, the 26-year-old's best result on the surface was at Queen's two years ago when he reached the quarter-finals before losing to Botic van de Zandschulp in two sets.

Since that defeat, the 26-year-old has managed only three wins out of nine on the surface, with his last victory at Wimbledon two years ago.

The former No. 21 player enters this year's Queen's event on a two-match losing streak in grass-court events: a third-round five-set thriller against Holger Rune at Wimbledon two years ago and a first-round defeat to Alejandro Tabilo in West Kensington 12 months ago.

A year after that three-set loss to Tabilo, Davidovich Fokina, who has a 6-10 career record on grass, seeks a seventh win at the expense of the 2023 champion at Queen's.

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Head To Head

Monte Carlo Masters (2025) - Semi-finals: Alcaraz 7-6(2) 6-4 

Barcelona (2023) - Quarter-finals: Alcaraz 7-6(5) 6-4

Alcaraz leads this all-Spanish head-to-head 2-0 ahead of their third meeting on the ATP Tour.

Previous meetings have occurred on clay, with the five-time Grand Slam champion winning by the same score in Barcelona two years ago and in Monte Carlo in April this year.

The world No. 2 enters Tuesday’s encounter on an 11-match winning streak against opponents ranked 21st or lower and seeks a 12th consecutive victory against the world No. 27

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We say: Alcaraz to win in three sets

While Davidovich Fokina has struggled to secure wins on grass in his last nine matches, eight of those encounters have not concluded in straight sets.

Although Alcaraz's two previous victories over his compatriot have been in two sets, the No. 27 player in the world could find third-time luck this time and potentially clinch a set.

However, Davidovich Fokina is unlikely to achieve more than that, as Alcaraz is favoured to progress to a second match in West Kensington. ID:575607:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5754:

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