Carlos Alcaraz sets up Queen's final against De Minaur and closes in on No 1 ranking

Spaniard defeated Sebastian Korda in straight sets on Saturday

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated Sebastian Korda of US at The Queen's Club on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Getty

Carlos Alcaraz inched closer to winning his first grass court title and reclaiming the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic after easing past Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final at Queen's Club on Saturday.

The Spaniard will face Australia's Alex de Minaur, who beat second seed Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), in Sunday's title match.

Playing in just his third grass court tournament of his career, Alcaraz adapted quickly to the conditions after a tough first round match against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

The US Open champion had to recover from a slow start as he was broken for the only time in the opening game.

But Korda committed a number of double faults at key moments as Alcaraz broke back and edged a tight first set after breaking again in the eighth game.

The second set was more straightforward for the 20-year-old as Alcaraz broke to love in the third game and comfortably served it out.

"I'm playing great, I'm feeling great," said Alcaraz.

"I'm really happy to play here in Queen's. Since the first match, I feel the love from the crowd. Every match I feel better and I feel like I've been playing on grass for 10 years.

"Very happy to make my first final on grass and even more so at Queen's."

De Minaur knocked out Rune after saving the three break points he faced and breaking the 20-year-old Dane's serve twice.

De Minaur has pedigree on grass. The Australian won Eastbourne in 2021 and reached the Wimbledon last 16 in 2022.

“I have played decent on grass and I am having a good week, and this was my best performance of the week,” he said.

De Minaur won the biggest title of his career — and his seventh — in February at Acapulco.

Should Alcaraz win Sunday's final, he would reclaim the top ranking from Djokovic and also be seeded number one at Wimbledon which begins on July 3.