Champ Alcaraz in the groove

Carlos Alcaraz warned his Wimbledon rivals that he “feels great” on grass after the world No.2 defied his own expectations by winning the Queen’s Club title for a second time.

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Alcaraz battled to a bruising 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 victory over Czech world number 30 Jiri Lehecka in the final of the Wimbledon warm-up event on Sunday.

The 22-year-old has extended his career-best winning streak to 18 matches, putting him in the perfect position to defend his Wimbledon title.

Alcaraz has won the French Open, the Rome Masters and Queen’s during his blistering run.

But the five-time Grand Slam champion had arrived in west London concerned about his ability to make the tricky transition from the clay-court season to the unique demands of the brief grass campaign.

Underling the difficulty of the task, Alcaraz is the first player to win Roland Garros and Queen’s back to back since Rafael Nadal in 2008.

“I'm going to say it’s really complicated, the switch from clay to grass in just few days, because that's the time I had before the tournament began, just two days of practising,” Alcaraz said.