Saturday, June 21

Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Queen’s Club Championships final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jiri Lehecka, including predictions, head-to-head and their tournament so far.

Fresh off securing his 250th victory on the ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz faces in-form first-time ATP 500 finalist Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s Queen’s Club Championships title match.

After dealing with expected issues acclimatising to the grass after an extended clay season, Alcaraz has played dominantly in the last two rounds, defeating Arthur Rinderknech and Roberto Bautista Agut; another strong performance will be necessary to outlast Lehecka, who overcame home favourite Jack Draper in a thrilling three-setter on Andy Murray Arena.

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Match preview

The top seed at the Queen’s Club may have struggled in the first two rounds against Adam Walton and Jaume Munar — his match against Munar lasted three hours and 23 minutes — but the 22-year-old has improved his tennis in the last eight and the semi-final.

Having faced two break points in his tournament-opening victory over Walton and a staggering 12 in the drawn-out all-Spanish second round, the No. 1 seed in West London has given little away in wins over Rinderknech and Bautista Agut, conceding zero break points against the former and one in the all-Spanish semi-final.

The outcome of those wins means Alcaraz has surged into his second title match at the Queen's Club in his third appearance in West London, where he claimed the title two years ago with a comfortable win over Alex de Minaur.

Alcaraz, whose 250th win came quicker than all but two players in the Open Era — John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal — seeks a 251st to clinch his fifth title of 2025 and the 21st title of his career.

To achieve that, the Spanish sensation must defeat a player who is among the five to beat him in 2025 — Novak Djokovic (Australian Open), Lehecka (Doha), David Goffin (Miami) and Holger Rune (Barcelona) — but the No. 1 seed in London enters Sunday’s Queen’s final fresh from securing a 17th consecutive victory.

Lehecka aims to succeed where many on the tour have failed since Rune stunned Alcaraz on home soil in April, despite the Czech player’s performances on grass this season providing encouragement.

While the world No. 30’s run of not dropping a set this week was ended by Draper, who engineered six break points, the 23-year-old responded by playing tight tennis in the deciding set to seal a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory in two hours and seven minutes.

Fresh off securing his 100th win on the tour over one Brit — Jacob Fearnley — Lehecka recorded his 101st against another, upsetting the world No. 6 for a third top-10 victory of 2025 after wins over Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane and Alcaraz in Doha.

The Czech man has now emulated countryman Tomas Berdych (Wimbledon, 2010) as the last player from Czechia to reach a grass-court title match, and the 23-year-old hopes to fight off possible nerves as he competes for a third career crown and his first at ATP 500 level.

That requires the world No. 30 to beat the tour’s in-form player on a 17-match winning streak, a former Queen’s champion and Wimbledon favourite, a significant challenge that the big-serving Lehecka aims to overcome.

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Tournament so far

Carlos Alcaraz:

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

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

Quarter-final: vs. Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4

Semi-final: vs. Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4

Jiri Lehecka: 

First round: vs. Alex De Minaur 6-4 6-2 

Second round: vs. Gabriel Diallo 6-4 6-2

Quarter-final: vs. Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2

Semi-final: vs. Jack Draper 6-4 4-6 7-5

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Head To Head

Doha (2025) - Quarter-final: Lehecka 6-3 3-6 6-4

Queen's (2023) - Second round: Alcaraz 6-2 6-3

Alcaraz and Lehecka have split their two meetings on the ATP Tour, and Sunday’s victor will take a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head.    

The Czech man claimed their previous meeting in Doha earlier this year, securing a three-set victory for his second top-10 victory of 2025; the world No. 30 secured his third in Saturday’s win over Draper.    

However, Lehecka enters the title match in West London aware of their first meeting, which took place at this event two years ago; Alcaraz took that encounter in straight sets en route to his debut success at the tournament.    

Excluding the NextGen Finals, Alcaraz holds a 20-6 record in title matches, significantly superior to Lehecka's 2-2 record ahead of the deciding contest in Queen's.

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We say: Lehecka to win in three sets

This prediction may be unpopular, given Alcaraz’s winning streak and his standing as the strongest player on grass in the past two years.

Sunday’s outcome will depend on how well Lehecka manages any nerves from playing in his biggest career final and how he serves; we are backing the Czech star to upset the top seed in West London, ending the Spaniard’s 17-match winning run to secure his first ATP 500 crown at Queen’s.  

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