Doha [Qatar], February 21: Carlos Alcaraz prevailed in tussle on Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open to preserve his perfect start to 2026.
The World No. 1 overcame Karen Khachanov 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3 at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex centre court to seal his semi-final spot in the ATP 500 tournament.
With both players striking the ball with relentless power from the baseline, Alcaraz held his nerve at key moments to forge a comeback victory and set a last-four meeting with defending champion Andrey Rublev.
Having backed his Australian Open title run by reaching his maiden Doha semi-final, Alcaraz has improved to 10-0 for the season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 22-year-old is now 12-0 in tour-level quarter-finals since his defeat to Jiri Lehecka in Doha a year ago.
Both Alcaraz and Khachanov let slip three break points during a rollicking opening set that featured several stunning all-court exchanges. It was Khachanov, after saving a set point at 4-5, 40/Ad, who raised his level in commanding fashion to prevail. One of the highlights of the set was the seventh seed's remarkable forehand dig to move 4/0 clear in the tie-break, and he closed it out to win just his second set across his six tour-level meetings with Alcaraz.
Serve dominated the early stages of the second set as the match lulled somewhat after the relentless intensity of the opening set. Alcaraz was ready to take his chance when it came, however: After Khachanov pushed a makeable forehand volley long to hand Alcaraz two break points, he closed out for a break of serve that he rode all the way to the second set.
With the momentum in his favour, Alcaraz picked out a rasping crosscourt forehand pass to break again in the fifth game of the decider, and the Spaniard ultimately won five of the final six games to wrap a two-hour, 27-minute victory in which he did not faced a break point after the opening set.
Earlier, Rublev extended his winning streak in Doha to eight matches with a 6-3, 7-6/(2) triumph against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The World No. 14, the champion in the Qatari capital in both 2020 and 2025, saved all five break points he faced against Tstisipas in their first meeting since the 2022 ATP Finals. With his 96-minute win, Rublev levelled the pair's Head2Head series at 6-6.
Source: Qatar Tribune
