Tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz lauds ‘tough’ Alex de Minaur ahead of Queen’s Club clash

Carlos Alcaraz has heaped praise on Alex de Minaur, saying the in-form Australian is the favourite to stop him becoming world No.1 at Queen’s Club.

Carlos Alcaraz calls his battle with Novak Djokovic for the world No.1 spot in men’s tennis ‘a beautiful fight’.

But the smiling young Spaniard recognises it’s a tough, quicksilver Australian who could provide the knockout blow for his immediate hopes of ousting Djokovic from top spot, when he faces de Minaur at Queen’s Club in London on Sunday.

Paying the ‘Demon’ the ultimate compliment, Alcaraz – who suddenly appears to have taken to grass-court tennis in the manner his rivals must have feared – even suggested the Sydneysider was the favourite to win their final showdown at the venerable Wimbledon warm-up event.

But despite being more experienced and comfortable on the surface, and looking immaculate in his 6-3 7-6 (7-2) semi-final win over Holger Rune on Saturday, de Minaur will recognise just what giant strides his 20-year-old opponent has made in just a week.

In an interview post-match Aussie star Alex de Minaur (pictured) said his semi-final win at Queen’s was the best game of his career

Rising Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz will become Wimbledon top seed if he can overcome de Minaur in the Queen’s Final

Alcaraz reckons he’s not in the slightest bit fazed by the pressure of knowing victory over de Minaur would mean he goes into Wimbledon as world No.1 and top seed for the slam.

‘You know, it’s an extra motivation for me to go into the final with extra energy,’ the Spanish youngster said.

‘I’m going to go for it. Being top seed at Wimbledon, being No.1, it’s still a dream.

‘(It’s) something that I work on, to recover the No.1. Novak and I, we are having a beautiful fight for the No.1.’

Alcaraz has had three separate spells at the summit since grabbing top spot in September last year, becoming the youngest man to do so at 19 years, four months and six days after his triumph in the US Open.

De Minaur, known as the Demon has taken his game to a new level on grass these days

His rival Alcaraz believes the Demon (above) should be the favourite for their colossal Queen’s Final

But Djokovic has wrested it back on three occasions, while also lifting the first two grand slams of the year in Melbourne and Paris.

‘I’m going to go for it,’ Alcaraz said. ‘It would be crazy for me to be top seed in Wimbledon.’

But de Minaur stands in his way, and the Spaniard has nothing but respect for the 24-year-old Australian No.1, who bases himself in Spain during the European season.

De Minaur held two match points against Alcaraz in their only previous match, the Barcelona Open semi-final on clay last year, before succumbing.

‘I have seen Alex for a long time. He shared a lot of tournaments with my older brother (Alvaro). They played when they were younger,’ Alcaraz said.

‘The match that we played in Barcelona was really tough. I saved match point and with a crazy passing shot,’ he added, recalling his thrilling but exhausting 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win that took three hours and 40 minutes.

‘I know that the level of Alex, he’s playing great. He has beaten Rune, a great player, in the semi-final. He has a game that suits really well on grass.

‘So it’s going to be a really tough final. I’m going to say he’s the favourite with the level that he’s playing right now.

‘All I can say is I’m going to enjoy. I’m going to enjoy my first final on grass – and let’s see what happens.’