Watch: Carlos Alcaraz makes line umpire smile by complimenting her close call judgement at Queen's Club Championships

Carlos Alcaraz kicked off this grass court season at the 2023 Queen's Club Championships, playing his first grass court tournament on the ATP Tour outside Wimbledon.

The young Spaniard was up against Arthur Rinderknech of France in the first round. While the match was a tough one for Alcaraz, he managed to scrap past Rinderknech 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3).

During the third set, there was a nice moment between Alcaraz and the line umpire when he complimented her close call at 1-2 30-15. Alcaraz returned Rinderknech's cross-court drop shot with one of his own. The French player managed to get to the ball and played it down the line. But his shot missed the tramline by just millimeters. The line umpire called the ball "out," and the Frenchman, in disbelief, immediately reviewed the decision.

On the big screen, the line umpire was proved correct, and Alcaraz praised her for the call. The World No. 2's words made the line umpire blush, following which chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani also gave her a thumbs-up for her excellent judgment.

"Nice call," Alcaraz said.

Carlos Alcaraz, meawnhile, was made to really work for his victory in London as Rinderknech pushed him hard in all three sets. The result is also an encouraging sign for the 20-year-old who has found it challenging to get his footing on the grass.

Alcaraz, the top seed, will continue his journey in Queen's against Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the second round. Lehecka, the World No. 36, overcame Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his opening-round match, 7-6(4), 6-3.

“Grass is tough for me" - Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz has not found any success on the grass in his young career. The former World No. 1 had a 4-2 win-loss record on the grass before his win in Queen's and had played all his matches on the surface at Wimbledon.

At 2022 Wimbledon, Alcaraz was seeded No. 5 and lost to Jannik Sinner, 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3, in the fourth round. A year before, he entered the Wimbledon main draw via a wildcard and lost to No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

In a 2022 interview, Alcaraz highlighted his difficulties in playing on the surface and admitted to having issues with movement in the grass.

“Grass is tough for me because the movement is tough, more difficult than other surfaces. I would say to play four hours on grass is tougher than the other surfaces, even if there are not long rallies. So for me it’s tougher to play a marathon match on grass,” Carlos Alcaraz said in a 2022 interview with Tennishead.