Friday, June 20

Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Queen’s Club Championships semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Roberto Bautista Agut, including predictions, head-to-head and their tournament so far.

Carlos Alcaraz and Roberto Bautista Agut will compete in Saturday’s Queen’s Club Championships semi-final, bidding to secure a place in Sunday’s title match.

The all-Spanish contest will mark the players’ third meeting on the ATP Tour, and Bautista Agut, fresh from ending a losing streak against top-10 players by outlasting Holger Rune in Friday’s last quarter-final, seeks another victory by taking down the top seed.

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Match preview

Having struggled to see off Adam Walton in his tournament opener and having come close to elimination after a drawn-out round-two match against Jaume Munar, Alcaraz played commendably against the big-serving Arthur Rinderknech to secure a 7-5, 6-4 victory.

After needing to survive two break points conceded in the first round and saving 10 of the 12 Munar engineered in the last 16, the leading seed conceded none on Friday en route to sealing a win in one hour and 20 minutes.

The upshot of Friday's victory means the 22-year-old has extended his winning streak to 16 matches since losing in the Barcelona final in April.

While the 2023 Queen's champion might have preferred to face the last man to beat him on the tour — Rune in Barcelona — he faces a veteran whom he has never lost to entering Saturday's contest.

The leading seed is 40-5 in 2025 ahead of another semi-final in West Kensington, and he aims to notch a 41st victory this year and his 28th career triumph on grass to advance to the title match.

On the other side of the net is Bautista Agut, who secured three wins in a row for the first time in eight months to reach the last four in Queen's.

That five-match winning run in Antwerp concluded with the 37-year-old securing his 12th ATP crown, and the experienced player needs two more to add to his tally of titles on the men’s tour.

Defeating the world No. 9 allowed the world No. 51 to finally beat a top-10 player this year after losses to Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Rune at Roland Garros, but he exacted retribution over the Dane in Friday's three-set success.

Bautista Agut has had to battle incredibly hard in London to secure hard-fought three-set triumphs over Nuno Borges, Jakub Mensik and Rune, seeing the 2016 Queen's quarter-finalist enter his maiden semi-final in London.

However, defeating the top seed for the first time presents a sterner challenge for the experienced Spaniard, who strives to compete for his 13th title at tour level at the expense of the No. 1 seed.

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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 

Roberto Bautista Agut:

First round: vs. Nuno Borges 6-7[6] 7-5 6-4

Second round: vs. Jakub Mensik 3-6 6-3 7-5

Quarter-final: vs. Holger Rune 7-6[5] 6-7[4] 6-2  

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Head To Head

Barcelona (2023) - Round of 16: Alcaraz 6-3 7-5 

Indian Wells (2022) - Round of 32: Alcaraz 6-2 6-0

Alcaraz leads Bautista Agut 2-0 in their head-to-head match-ups, leading into their third encounter on the ATP Tour.

Having already met on hard courts and clay, Saturday’s meeting will be their first on grass, and the veteran will hope for a different outcome after failing to take a set off the five-time Grand Slam champion at Indian Wells three years ago and in Barcelona in 2022.

Fresh from ending a three-match losing streak against top-10 opponents by defeating Rune, Bautista Agut aims for consecutive victories against an elite player for the first time since 2022 when he beat Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz at the ATP Cup three years ago.

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We say: Alcaraz to win in two sets

While Alcaraz is expected to secure a spot in Sunday’s title match, the top seed must be wary of Bautista Agut, whose momentum has seen him clinch three wins consecutively for the first time since his run to the Antwerp title last October.

Despite the veteran's form, the 2023 champion is favoured to achieve another victory in straight sets, extending his winning run and competing for the ATP 500 title against Jiri Lehecka or Jack Draper.

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