Alcaraz marches on in Doha
Carlos Alcaraz roused a big finish to secure progress in straight sets at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.
The No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings overcame Valentin Royer 6-2, 7-5 to seal his quarter-final spot at the hard-court ATP 500. Alcaraz reeled off five consecutive games from 2-5 in the second set, raising his level in typically classy fashion to round out a 96-minute second-round triumph.
“Obviously I had to be prepared for everything,” said Alcaraz, when asked if he ever doubted he could secure the win. “There were some moments when I thought about a third set, I’m not going to lie, but obviously it was just a small place in my mind that was thinking that. The rest was working to find solutions, to find the right way again.
“I’m just really pleased and really happy I was able to find good rhythm again, and good tennis. It’s just about fighting. I know tennis. It’s just about one point, and sometimes it is really difficult to close out the set or the match. I just had to stay there, and I’m happy I turned it around and got the win in straight sets.”
In the midst of a nine-match winning streak after backing up his Australian Open title run by reaching the quarter-finals in Doha, Alcaraz will on Friday take on Karen Khachanov for a last-four spot. The seventh-seeded Khachanov, who downed Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, was the 2024 champion in the Qatari capital.
Alcaraz is on a 27-match winning streak on outdoor hard courts, dating back to his title run at the Cincinnati Open last August. The 22 year-old is chasing his maiden trophy in Doha, where he fell at the quarter-final stage to Jiri Lehecka on event debut a year ago.
Despite defeat, Royer will have plenty of positives to take from his maiden clash with Alcaraz, and he has risen seven spots to No. 53 in the ATP Live Rankings after reaching the second round in Doha. The 24 year-old Frenchman showed few nerves as he moved within a game of the second set, but he was unable to counter Alcaraz’s late charge.
After Alcaraz initially broke to move back on serve and then levelled at 5-5, the Spaniard produced a pair of stunning passing shots to secure a second consecutive break for 6-5. From there, he had no issues closing out a win in which he converted four of eight break points he earned.
Alcaraz will bid to extend his perfect record against Khachanov. He leads 5-0 head-to-head series, including a straight-sets win in their only hard-court meeting in Beijing in 2024.
The other quarter-final in Alcaraz’s half of the draw will feature fifth seed and defending champion Andrey Rublev taking on Stefanos Tsitsipas. Rublev brushed aside Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-4.
Former World No. 3 Tsitsipas advanced to his first tour-level quarter-final for 10 months by downing fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4.
