DOHA, Feb 19: World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the Qatar Open quarterfinals with a commanding 6-2, 7-5 victory over Valentin Royer, extending his impressive run on outdoor hard courts.
The Spaniard looked in control early but faced resistance in the second set, trailing 2-5 before producing a stunning five-game surge to seal the match in 96 minutes. Reflecting on the turnaround, Alcaraz admitted that the thought of a deciding set briefly crossed his mind, but he focused on finding solutions and maintaining composure to close out the contest in straight sets.
With the win, Alcaraz extended his winning streak to nine matches, having recently lifted the Australian Open title. He is now set for a quarterfinal showdown against seventh seed Karen Khachanov, who defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to book his spot in the last eight.
Alcaraz is chasing his maiden Doha title after exiting at the quarterfinal stage on debut last year. The 22 year old has now compiled a 27 match winning streak on outdoor hard courts, dating back to his Cincinnati Open triumph.
Elsewhere in the draw, defending champion Andrey Rublev cruised past Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-4 and will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. Tsitsipas secured his first tour level quarterfinal appearance in 10 months with a straight-sets win over fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.