Alcaraz vs. Korda, Rune vs. De Minaur

Queen’s Club boasts a hot lineup on Saturday, with top seed Carlos Alcaraz battling American Sebastian Korda and No. 2 seed Holger Rune taking on Aussie Alex de Minaur. Spots in the final are at stake.

(1) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Sebastian Korda

Carlos Alcaraz is quickly finding his game on grass. The world No. 2 hasn’t played much grass-court tennis in his young career so far. His run to the semifinals of a packed draw at Queen’s Club is a strong statement headed into this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Alcaraz will be looking for his second Grand Slam title of his career after achieving breakthrough success at the U.S. Open in 2022.

American Sebastian Korda started his 2023 season strong, but a wrist injury kept him sidelined for months. Following a few false starts at his return during the clay season, Korda is back with vengeance. He has been impeccable this week, with a pair of particularly impressive wins over Frances Tiafoe and Cameron Norrie to earn his spot in the semis.

This is a budding rivalry in the making, though they only met 3 times so far. Alcaraz and Korda met for the first time two years ago in the championship match of the NextGen ATP Finals. Alcaraz just edged Korda in that one, while Korda took revenge last year in Monte-Carlo. The Spaniard won their last match at the 2022 French Open in their only straight-set encounter.

This one should be a firecracker of a match. Korda’s game translates beautifully to grass and he has proven that he’s back in good form again. And Alcaraz has legitimate claim as the second-best ATP player on the planet. Grass isn’t his most successful surface, but he also has proven to be in good form this week. While an upset wouldn’t be a huge surprise, Alcaraz is likely to move through.

Cheryl pick: Alcaraz in 3

Ricky pick: Korda in 3

(2) Holger Rune vs. (7) Alex de Minaur

Prior to this week, Holger Rune had never managed to win a match on a grass court. But that’s no reason to doubt his success.The 20 year-old advanced on the ATP tour like a freight train in 2022. He was ranked outside the top 100 at the start of the season last year. He wrapped the 2022 campaign as the world No. 11 with a trio of titles to his name.

Rune only has one title to his name in 2023, a wild come-from-behind victory over Botic van de Zandschulp in Munich. But he has been in excellent form regardless. The Dane made a pair of Masters finals during the clay court swing in Monte-Carlo and Rome. He comes into Queen’s Club with plenty of confidence. He earned his spot in the semis with wins over Maxime Cressy, Ryan Peniston, and Lorenzo Musetti.

Alex de Minaur has done this week what he does so frequently in his career: he quietly made his way to the business end of the tournament. De Minaur is ranked 18th in the world. Like Rune, he has a single title to his name in 2023 in Acapulco. De Minaur has already had a grass tune-up event this season in s’Hertogenbosch, where was dispatched in the quarterfinals by Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor.

De Minaur has historically been successful on grass. Coming into this week, his record on the lawn was a career 20-14. His path to the semis this week includes wins over Andy Murray, Diego Schwartzman, and Adrian Mannarino.

With Rune playing as well as he is and de Minaur with a favorable draw at Queen’s Club, the edge goes to the Dane on this one. He has a 2-1 head-to-head over the Aussie (De Minaur earned his only win over Rune in Acapulco earlier this year).

Cheryl pick: Rune in 3

Ricky pick: De Minaur in 3