Carlos Alcaraz in shock Alex de Minaur admission before Queen's final

Carlos Alcaraz has paid Alex de Minaur the ultimate compliment after describing the Aussie tennis star as the "favourite" ahead of their showdown in the Queen's Club final. The shock admission from the World No.2 comes after de Minaur stunned second seed Holger Rune in a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) semi-final boilover.

Australia's No.1 ranked player scored one of the best wins of his career by defeating the Danish star in straight sets to become the first Aussie in 17 years to make the final of the prestigious pre-Wimbledon grass-court tournament. De Minaur made just one unforced error in an immaculate first set, in which he was never broken by the World No.6.

HISTORIC: Tennis world reacts to Novak Djokovic's French Open victory

'GUTTED': Iga Swiatek's rival in heartbreaking scenes after French Open final

Rune then had to save three break points to avoid going 5-3 down in the second stanza, before De Minaur's own moment of concern when he had to rescue two break points of his own at 5-5. The Aussie then dominated the tiebreak to set up the chance of earning the biggest triumph of his career, topping even his Acapulco heroics in another ATP 500 tournament in March.

Speaking ahead of Sunday night's (AEST) final, Alcaraz admitted it would be a "really tough" match against a player he knows well in de Minaur. The Spaniard has nothing but respect for the 24-year-old Australian, who bases himself in Spain during the European season.

De Minaur held two match points against Alcaraz in their only previous match at the Barcelona Open semi-final on clay last year. Alcaraz ultimately ended up winning but remembers having to pull off some "crazy" moments to get the job done against the Aussie.

Alex de Minaur the 'favourite' says Carlos Alcaraz

"I have seen Alex for a long time. He shared a lot of tournaments with my older brother (Alvaro). They played when they were younger," Alcaraz said. "The match that we played in Barcelona was really tough. I saved match point and with a crazy passing shot," he added, recalling his thrilling but exhausting 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win that took three hours and 40 minutes.

"I know that the level of Alex, he's playing great. He has beaten Rune, a great player, in the semi-final. He has a game that suits really well on grass. So it's going to be a really tough final.

"I'm going to say he's the favourite with the level that he's playing right now. All I can say is I'm going to enjoy. I'm going to enjoy my first final on grass - and let's see what happens."

World No.1 ranking on the line for Carlos Alcaraz

The humble assessment from Alcaraz no doubt has a lot to do with the fact this is just the third grass-court tournament of the young gun's ATP Tour career. The frightening reality for the Spaniard's rivals is he is looking sharper and more comfortable on grass with every passing match - as evidenced by the impressive 6-3, 6-4 semi-final victory over Sebastian Korda.

Alcaraz goes into Sunday night's final knowing a win will see him reclaim the World No.1 status from Novak Djokovic, as well as guaranteeing him top seeding for Wimbledon. "You know, it's an extra motivation for me to go into the final with extra energy," the Spanish youngster said.

"I'm going to go for it. Being top seed at Wimbledon, being No.1, it's still a dream. (It's) something that I work on, to recover the No.1. Novak and I, we are having a beautiful fight for the No.1."

Alcaraz has had three separate spells at the summit since grabbing top spot in September last year, becoming the youngest man to do so at 19 years, four months and six days after his triumph in the US Open. But Djokovic has wrested it back on three occasions, while also lifting the first two grand slams of the year in Melbourne and Paris.

with AAP

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.