Preview: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Arthur Rinderknech - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Fresh off claiming his 15th win on the trot, Carlos Alcaraz faces Arthur Rinderknech in the Queen’s Club Championships quarter-final, aiming to advance to the tournament’s last four.

The top seed won a titanic all-Spanish affair with Jaume Munar to advance to the last eight, where he takes on the hard-hitting Rinderknech, who has not faced a break point in the opening two rounds in London ahead of a third meeting with the world No. 2 on the ATP Tour.

Match preview

Fans inside Andy Murray Arena were given the full Alcaraz experience in Thursday’s last-16 match with Munar before the No. 1 seed claimed a 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5 success in three hours and 23 minutes.

By prevailing in the longest match at Queen’s for 34 years, the five-time Grand Slam champion has secured a 15th straight victory on the tour, setting a new personal record entering Friday’s contest with Rinderknech.

Alcaraz entered this year’s event in London soon after his thrilling French Open comeback victory over Jannik Sinner, and while he has struggled in rounds one and two, the top seed has found ways to secure wins in West Kensington.

Now at 39-5 for the year, the tour-leading player for wins could record his 40th victory in 2025 by getting the better of his French opponent; however, the 22-year-old who double-faulted eight times and gave away cheap points to Munar must improve on serve to outlast his quarter-final opponent.

Although he showed his ingenuity and execution on the big pressure points to save 10 of Munar's 12 chances to break, another similarly sloppy showing might be punished in the quarters.

Despite never beating Alcaraz on the tour, Rinderknech’s strengths on serve and all-or-nothing ball-striking make him menacing to the top seed.

The lucky loser has come through tests against Ben Shelton and serve-bot Reilly Opelka to set up another Queen’s matchup with the Spanish No. 1, two years after their first-round encounter in London.

Although the 29-year-old was beaten in that 2023 meeting, this year’s victories in rounds one and two mean that the world No. 80 will enter the contest with growing momentum and fine form.

Having held serve every time in the win over new top-10 entrant Shelton before doing likewise on Thursday, Rinderknech will hope to serve as accurately against the No. 1 seed and take advantage of losses of focus from the other side of the net in the hope of sealing a second top-10 victory this week.

Rinderknech's win over Opelka was only his 10th career victory on a grass court, and the Frenchman, who has never won three consecutive matches on the surface, seeks to break new ground by beating Alcaraz, thereby advancing to a first career semi-final on grass.

Tournament so far

Carlos Alcaraz:

First round: vs. Adam Walton 6-4 7-6[4]

Second round: Jaume Munar 6-4 6-7[7] 7-5

Arthur Rinderknech:

First round: vs. Ben Shelton 7-6[5] 7-6[4]

Second round: vs. Reilly Opelka 7-5 7-6[3]

Head To Head

Queen's Club (2023) - First round: Alcaraz 4-6 7-5 7-6(3)

US Open (2021) - Second round: Alcaraz 7-6(6) 4-6 6-1 6-4

Although Alcaraz leads Rinderknech 2-0 in their head-to-head, the Frenchman has typically always been a hard nut to crack for the world No. 2.

Friday’s matchup will be their first since 2023’s meeting at Queen’s, where the Spaniard needed a third-set tiebreak to complete a comeback victory in the opening round en route to winning his first title on grass.

Fresh off ending his top-10 hoodoo with a gutsy triumph over Shelton earlier this week, Rinderknech seeks back-to-back victories over the elite by defeating Alcaraz.

We say: Alcaraz to win in three sets

Considering Alcaraz has faced issues closing out matches in rounds one and two, the Spaniard could face similar issues against the big-serving and hard-hitting Rinderknech, who has not faced a single break point.

While the top seed is anticipated to be forced to a decider, we favour the 2023 champion to see off the Frenchman and set up a last-four contest with Holger Rune or Roberto Bautista Agut.

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