Carlos Alcaraz pleased with his grass-court performance before Wimbledon.

By, Harshadkr. Arun Salve
Venus Williams
By, Harshadkr. Arun Salve

Carlos Alcaraz showed no signs of inexperience on the grass. The rising star of men's tennis cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic to reach the last eight at the Queen's Club Championships on Thursday. Alcaraz, who is ranked No. 2 and the top seed in west London, is making his debut at the Wimbledon tune-up event. He has never played professional matches on grass outside the All England Club, where he will go next month aiming for his second major title after winning the US Open last year. He said his grass-court expectations "are going to change" after his convincing victory over Lehecka, who was at a career-high ranking of No. 36.

Alcaraz said he felt ready to get good results on grass after this match and this level. The Spaniard said he has been learning from Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who are both multiple Wimbledon champions and great movers on grass. He said he has been watching videos of them and his opponents to adapt his game to the surface. Alcaraz was steady against Lehecka on Thursday, except for one slip in the first set, as he focused on his footwork. He said moving on grass was the key to playing well on it. He overcame some errors in the second set and sealed the win in 1 hour, 25 minutes with a forehand error from Lehecka on his third match point. Alcaraz had a tougher first-round match against Arthur Rinderknech of France, which he won in three sets with two tiebreakers. "I feel really comfortable here on grass," Alcaraz said. "I'm happy getting experience on grass. Knowing I have this level, I'm really happy about it." Alcaraz will face qualifier Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals. Dimitrov, who won the title in 2014, beat Francisco Cerundolo, the No. 8 seed, 6-3, 7-5.

Adrian Mannarino of France continued his fine form on grass, and put on a show, by beating third-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States 6-4, 7-6 (7).

Mannarino, who knocked out Daniil Medvedev last week in 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, used his reliable first serve -- he won 74% of points on it -- to set up a clash with Alex de Minaur in the last eight.

The Frenchman, ranked 46th, delighted the crowd with a no-look volley winner, as well as a tweener and a shot behind his back in the same rally.

Fritz fended off three match points in the tiebreaker but double-faulted on the fourth.

De Minaur of Australia cruised past Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour.

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