Alcaraz impresses in classy victory over Cerundolo at Queen’s

One of the most impressive aspects of the Spaniard’s stunning title runs at Queen’s and then Wimbledon last summer was how quickly he learnt to adapt his craft to the grass courts of London.

It appears those lessons were well embedded, as Alcaraz looked comfortable and assured as he got his grass-court campaign off to another winning start.

Two breaks in the first set were more than enough for the world No 2, as Cerundolo – a surprisingly adept grass-courter himself – grappled with his own game throughout the opening stanza.

A 5-0 lead quickly turned into a one-set lead, as Alcaraz’s deft touch and all-court game delighted the British crowd and lit up an otherwise overcast day in West London.

The second set was a different story, however, as Cerundolo raised his level considerably to turn the match into a competitive contest.

Alcaraz, ranked No 2, will face the winner of the match between Argentinian Mariano Navone and Jack Draper next.

London ATP 500, other first-round results (Queen’s Club, grass, EUR 2.255.655, most recent results first):

• Mariano Navone vs. Jack Draper
• Andy Murray vs. Alexei Popyrin
• Ben Shelton vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: tuesday
• Daniel Evans vs. Brandon Nakashima: tuesday
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Billy Harris: tuesday
• Tommy Paul (5) beat Sebastian Baez: 6-4, 6-4
• Alejandro Tabilo beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-1
• Sebastian Korda beat Karen Khachanov: 7-5, 7-6 (5)
• Lorenzo Musetti beat Alex De Minaur (2): 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
• Taylor Fritz (4) beat Taro Daniel (Q): 6-3, 6-3
• Matteo Arnaldi beat Ugo Humbert (8): 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6)
• Milos Raonic beat Cameron Norrie: 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (9)
• Jordan Thompson beat Holger Rune (7): 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
• Rinky Hijikata (Q) beat Frances Tiafoe: 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 ret.
• Grigor Dimitrov (3) beat Adrian Mannarino: 6-1, 6-2