Spain's Carlos Alcaraz plays a forehand return to France's Arthur Rinderknech during their men's single tennis match on Day 4 of the Cinch ATP tennis Championships at Queen's Club in west London, on June 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

LONDON - Carlos Alcaraz secured a hard-fought 4-6 7-5 7-6(3) win over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech on his Queen's Club debut on Tuesday, bouncing back from a disappointing French Open.

The Spaniard, who will be one of the main contenders at the Queen's grasscourt tournament and Wimbledon next month, survived a wobble in the third set and then won the tiebreak.

Rinderknech, ranked 87th, came in as a lucky loser after the withdrawal of compatriot Arthur Fils and put up a memorable fight to make the Spaniard sweat in the first round clash.

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Carlos Alcaraz, who will be one of the main contenders at the Queen's grasscourt tournament and Wimbledon next month, survived a wobble in the third set and then won the tiebreak

"It was a very tough match, very difficult for me," Alcaraz said. "You know the grass is tough but I like to play here. It's a tournament that I wanted to play and it's given me a very good performance.

"I have never played a tournament except Wimbledon on grass and I wanted to play here as I couldn't play on grass at home so I came here to practice. I felt very good, but I would say I will be better in the next round," he added

The 20-year-old, who slipped to world number two after suffering cramps during his semi-final defeat by Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, will try to reclaim top spot even though he is playing in only his third career grasscourt tournament.

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Alcaraz will face Czech Jiri Lehecka in the second round.