Carlos Alcaraz secured his 15th consecutive victory at the HSBC Championships, marking the longest winning streak of his career. The top-seeded Spaniard faced a challenging match against fellow countryman Jaume Munar, ultimately prevailing with scores of 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5. Despite losing two match points in the second set tie-break and trailing 2-4 in the final set, Alcaraz emerged victorious after three hours and 23 minutes.
“It was a really tough battle that we had today. Jaume is a great competitor, I think he showed how difficult it is to beat him,” said Alcaraz. He expressed pride in his performance, stating, “I’m just proud of the level I played, it’s my second match on grass this year. There were a lot of things going on, but I’m really happy.”
Alcaraz’s win improved his record against Munar to 3-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Reflecting on the physical and mental challenges faced during the match, he added, “I struggled mentally and physically. I honestly still don’t know how I’m here now. I’m just really happy to give myself another chance in the quarter-finals.”
Fresh from victories at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome and Roland Garros, Alcaraz captivated spectators with his early winners and net play. However, Munar put up a strong fight in the deciding set by securing four consecutive games for a lead of 4-2.
Despite Munar’s challenge, Alcaraz demonstrated resilience reminiscent of his recent Roland Garros final against Jannik Sinner. His latest victory brings his grass-court record since 2023 to an impressive 22-1.
In the upcoming quarter-final round of this year’s tournament—his ninth so far—Alcaraz will face either Reilly Opelka or Arthur Rinderknech.
Elsewhere at Queen’s Club, Jiri Lehecka advanced to his second consecutive quarter-final following a straight-set win over Gabriel Diallo with scores of 6-4, 6-2. Lehecka has yet to face a break point across two matches and stands one win away from achieving his 100th tour-level victory (99-78). He will next compete against Jacob Fearnley who defeated Corentin Moutet with scores of 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final.