As Carlos Alcaraz lifted the giant Queen’s trophy into the clear blue London sky, fans and pundits were thinking one thing – is this young Spaniard ready to win Wimbledon?

It marks a fifth title of the year for Alcaraz – a first one ever on grass – and also a return to world number one, replacing Novak Djokovic. That means he will arrive at the All England Club on 3 July as the top seed.

“I could see Alcaraz winning Wimbledon, 100%,” said Andrew Castle, part of the BBC’s commentary team at Queen’s.

Only seven players have won Queen’s and then Wimbledon in the same year, including Alcaraz’s idol, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.

Having secured the Queen’s trophy on his tournament debut, Alcaraz said he now feels “one of the favourites” to win Wimbledon with pundits praising his “dynamic”, “assertive” and “explosive” style of play.

His blistering forehand clocks in at about 100mph with his sharp serve at 130pmh and, combined with his silky movement around the court and deft hand skills at the net, he makes for a formidable challenger to seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic.

Remarkably, Queen’s is only his third grass-court tournament and Alcaraz has spoken this week about his need to improve.

But for a relative novice on the surface, the US Open champion has managed to overcome many of those teething problems in rapid time and now looks comfortable, despite having only played 11 grass-court matches.

Alcaraz has something else too – the wow factor.

The Queen’s crowd packed out Centre Court on a baking Sunday afternoon to witness what they knew was the next generation of elite men’s tennis player.

Much has been said about who will take the baton with Roger Federer retired, Nadal following in 2024 and Djokovic nearing the end of his record-breaking career – but with Alcaraz, the game appears to be in safe hands.

“He is definitely the one,” said Kyle Edmund, former British number one and pundit on the BBC’s Queen’s coverage.

“He has such power in his game. He’s hitting slice and spin at the same time and that’s what makes him such a dangerous opponent.

“He still has that humble side even though he’s on top of the world right now. He’s been getting better and better and going into Wimbledon couldn’t ask for better preparation.

“It’s hard to see past him and Novak for the Wimbledon final.”

The two played each other in a much-anticipated semi-final at Roland Garros earlier this year with the 23-time Grand Slam champion coming out on top.

Alcaraz’s improvement on grass has been remarkable, but Djokovic has won the coveted title at every tournament since 2017 and a Wimbledon face-off between the two is a mouth-watering prospect which many will hope comes to fruition.

Devastating forehand and endearing personality

Alcaraz’s performances on court and manner off it at Queen’s have endeared him to the British crowds with fans hoping to get a look at the sport’s exciting star.

Each winner was met with rapturous applause and the crowd paused for breath when he wound up what is quickly becoming his trademark devastating forehand, with Castle saying he had “never seen a shot like that”.

“It’s the noise off the racquet, it’s such a destructive shot,” said Castle.

Against American Sebastian Korda in the semi-final, Alcaraz hit three of those forehands in one game, clocking in at 92mph, 96mph and 102mph on the speedometer.

Against De Minaur, he bided his time, picking his moments and patiently waiting to take the zip out of the ball before unleashing the power, leaving the Australian shaking his head in disbelief.

“I haven’t heard the crowd make noises like that when a player hits the ball, it’s almost like they can see the forehand winding up and they’re ready – they just love it,” said BBC pundit and former British number one John Lloyd.

“He’s so explosive when he hits the ball. The fans know it’s coming so they love it even more.”

With Wimbledon just days away, the Spaniard can only have done himself good by currying favour with the British fans with his likeable character sure to make him a star at SW19.

“He’s an entertainer,” said Lloyd. “There’s a lot goes into tournaments and he hits the balls but there’s many other things that make a tournament and he gets it.

“He thanks everyone and he spends hours signing autographs. He wants to do it, it’s not like he’s been told to, that’s just his natural persona.”

Alcaraz’s record-breaking career so far

• The youngest men’s world number one and at 19 years, four months the only teenager to achieve the feat
• Won 12 ATP titles in his career from 15 finals
• The youngest player to enter the top 100 aged 18
• The youngest player to win the US Open since Pete Sampras in 1990
• The only teenager to beat Rafael Nadal on clay followed by a win over Novak Djokovic, the first time a player has beaten both Nadal and Djokovic back-to-back
• Won five titles in 2023 – Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid and Queen’s – joint-top for title wins this season with world number three Daniil Medvedev