Carlos Alcaraz storms past Sebastian Korda to reach Queen’s final after Alex de Minaur stuns Holger Rune

Carlos Alcaraz will face Alex de Minaur in the final at Queen’s after the top seed took out Sebastian Korda 6-3 6-4 on Saturday.

Alcaraz is a newcomer to grass and is making his debut at the London event, but he has quickly looked at home on the surface this week as he gains momentum leading up to Wimbledon.

The world No. 2 needed 81 minutes to eliminate the American and put himself one victory away from a fifth title of the season following victories in Madrid, Barcelona, Indian Wells and Buenos Aires.

Victory over De Minaur would also send Alcaraz into Wimbledon as the top seed and as world No. 1 – a position currently occupied by Novak Djokovic.

“Honestly at the beginning of the week, I didn’t know that. When I won yesterday, they told me and I thought ‘Oh my god’, it’s so much motivation,” Alcaraz said.

“It’s something that’s in my mind, I’m going to go for it. Being a top seed at Wimbledon and world No. 1, it’s a dream, it could be great to recover it here at Queen’s to win the title.”

Both players suffered nervy starts as Korda broke the Alcaraz serve in the opening game, only for the Spaniard to immediately break back, aided by three double-faults in a row from his opponent.

A love hold from the top seed was tidier, but there were multiple break points for both players that they failed to take as a compelling opener stayed on serve up to 4-3.

Alcaraz then took the initiative by setting up two break points and taking the second with a winner, before showcasing some outstanding defence on his way to serving out the first set.

Two aces from Korda helped him get off the mark in set two with a comfortable hold, taking his overall tally up to seven, but his double fault count crept up to five.

The latter figure rose to six at the worst possible moment as the American went 0-40 down to cough up three break points at 1-1, and a ferocious 88-mile-per-hour Alcaraz return ensured the Spaniard took immediate advantage.

It was a moment that proved to be fatal for Korda’s hopes, as Alcaraz stayed solid behind his serve to see out the second set with minimal fuss, the American failing to earn a single break point.

“I’m playing great, feeling great. This is my third tournament on grass, I’m really happy to be playing here at Queen’s. Since the first match I feel the love from the crowd,” Alcaraz added.

“It’s impossible to win these kind of matches without the energy they bring to me. It has been amazing, I’m really happy to play my first final on grass and even more here at Queen’s.”

He continued: “I’m getting better, feeling better every match I’m playing. Right now I feel like I’ve been playing for 10 years on grass, it’s something crazy for me. I didn’t expect to adapt my movement and my game so fast.”

In the first semi-final of the day, Holger Rune’s bid for Queen’s glory ended with a 6-3 7-6(2) defeat to De Minaur.

The Dane, bidding for the first grass-court title of his career, failed to earn a single break in a match lasting one hour and 40 minutes.

World No. 18 De Minaur, the 2021 Eastbourne champion, will now bid for an eighth ATP career title on Sunday.

Rune, seeded second in London, was broken in the opening game without winning a single point in a nightmare start and couldn’t force his way back into contention against the Australian.

The seventh seed kept his opponent at arm’s length with a string of solid service games, before breaking for a second time when Rune was serving to stay in the set.

De Minaur saved a break point in the opening game of set two but saved it, while Rune rescued three in game eight with nothing to separate the two players.

Two more break points came and went for the Dane as De Minaur went 6-5 up, and a hold for the 20-year-old set up a tie-break.

The Australian earned two mini-breaks to Rune’s one by the first change of ends, with a lead of 4-2.

A third in the following point put De Minaur on the brink of victory, and he saw things out in composed style with two consecutive points to seal a comprehensive tie-break victory.

In Halle, Alexander Bublik stunned ninth seed and home favourite Alexander Zverev with a 6-3 7-5 win to reach the final.

The world No. 48 from Kazakhstan will bid for just the second ATP title of his career on Sunday, when he will face third seed Andrey Rublev.

Bublik landed 14 aces and won 94 per cent of his first serve points to beat the German in 88 minutes.

“The job is not finished, there is one last match,” Bublik said.

“I am happy but I try to stay focused. I tried to play my game and i am really happy with the win today.

“Playing Sascha [Zverev] is really tough and I was a bit lucky in the key moments. When you play against a top player like Sascha, you need all the weapons to work.”

Rublev reached his fourth final of the season with a 6-3 6-4 win over Roberto Bautista Agut.

The Russian landed 12 aces and 29 winners in a big-hitting victory and can win a second title of the season on Sunday following his victory in Monte Carlo.