Jiri Lehecka is warned he made a big mistake before Queen's Club Championships final with Carlos Alcaraz

Jiri Lehecka and Carlos Alcaraz will contest the Queen’s Club Championships final on Sunday.

Producing a stunning win on the Andy Murray Arena, Lehecka beat Jack Draper to book his place in an ATP 500 final for the first time in his career.

Awaiting him in the final is Alcaraz, who took down his fellow Spaniard, Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-4, 6-4, in the second semi-final.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

The two youngsters will battle it out for the title on Sunday, looking to finish up their Wimbledon preparations on the right note.

Alcaraz will no doubt be favored to beat Lehecka, as one ATP legend warns the Czech star he made things even tougher for himself with what he did after his semi-final match.

John Lloyd thinks Jiri Lehecka made a mistake watching Carlos Alcaraz’s match before the final

During the latter stages of Alcaraz’s win over Bautista Agut, Lehecka could be seen watching on from the stands.

Speaking on BBC Sport after the match, 1977 Australian Open finalist John Lloyd suggested that Lehecka may have made a mistake by doing so.

“That is going to be a different type of match [the final], and that will be tough, but when [Carlos] Alcaraz plays like this today…,” said Lloyd.

Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images for LTA

“I saw his opponent watching him, and I was thinking, I wouldn’t have watched this if I were you.”

More Tennis News

The Czech star likely won’t have gained much confidence watching the world number two as Alcaraz eased into the final.

Lloyd was mightily impressed with Alcaraz’s performance against Bautista Agut and labelled the Spaniard a ‘genius’.

“He’s a genius, isn’t he. We saw some shots today that no one else can play on the tour. He’s a joy to watch,” said Lloyd.

“When he’s in the mood, which is most cases these days, he plays shots, the variety that comes into his game is just, I love watching him play.

“You come away from watching [Carlos] Alcaraz and you remember shots in the match and you’ll just say I was there when he hit that ridiculous shot, and that ridiculous shot, sort of like [Roger] Federer, to be honest.

Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images for LTA

“We’re really lucky to have him.”

Alcaraz’s serve was on fire during his semi-final win, a shot Lloyd took the time to praise after the match.

“He’s going up and up. He struggled a bit at the beginning, got used to the speed of the court gradually, today was exceptional,” said Lloyd.

“His serving was beautiful.

Player Aces Double faults 1st Serve % Win % on 1st Serve Win % on 2nd Serve Service points won Carlos Alcaraz 15 1 71% 73% 81% 43 Roberto Bautista Agut 1 1 76% 60% 56% 42 Serving stats from Carlos Alcaraz v Roberto Bautista Agut

“[This could be] the best preparation he could have, win the tournament the way he’s playing right now, and then he’ll be in great shape for Wimbledon.”

He still has one more match to go before Wimbledon, and will look to get the job done in his third career meeting with Lehecka.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jiri Lehecka’s head-to-head record

Lehecka and Alcaraz have played twice before on the ATP Tour, at Queen’s in 2023 and in Doha earlier this year.

Playing for the first time on grass two years ago, Alcaraz overpowered his Czech opponent, dropping just five games as he advanced to the quarterfinals.

Lehecka was made to wait two years for his revenge but jumped at the opportunity, producing a stunning upset at this year’s Qatar Open.

After three sets of thrilling action in the Middle East, Lehecka beat Alcaraz to snap his 12-match ATP winning streak.

Only time will tell if Lehecka can put an end to another Alcaraz winning streak or if the Spaniard can extend his unbeaten run to 18 matches when they face off in the Queen’s final.

The 2025 Queen’s Club Championships final will be played on Sunday, June 22.

Click here to read article