Carlos Alcaraz is set to play Arthur Rinderknech in his first match since winning the Australian Open.
Alcaraz became the youngest player in history to complete the Career Grand Slam in men’s singles events after defeating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
Following the historic title win, Alcaraz immediately withdrew from the Rotterdam Open, setting his sights on the Qatar Open.
Alcaraz will be looking to improve upon his 2025 result in Qatar, when he was defeated in the quarter-finals by Jiri Lehecka.
Which member of the ‘Big Three’ is Carlos Alcaraz most similar to? Let us know why below👇
However, ahead of the event, Alcaraz has revealed that his main focus for the tournament is not the results he achieves.
Carlos Alcaraz is focusing on improvement over results in Qatar
Alcaraz has been handed a dream draw in Qatar, and as a result, he will be hopeful of winning his first title at the event.
While results are most definitely important to the 22-year-old Spaniard, it appears that his main focus will lie elsewhere throughout his campaign in Qatar.
As per Punto de Break, Alcaraz told reporters in Doha: “It’s good to be back on the court again. I’ve been training well.
“Obviously, what I did in Australia was incredible for me, and I still think about it a bit. But tennis is about moving forward tournament after tournament. Every tournament is great, it’s special, and you want to give 100 per cent.
“My team and I have set some goals for this tournament. We’re not talking about results at all. It’s more about continuing to improve.”
Alcaraz went on to expand on his point, highlighting a need to stay ahead of the chasing pack.
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“Obviously, I can see that I’ve had a lot of success so far, winning the biggest tournaments in the world,” Alcaraz continued.
“But I still see weaknesses in myself. Many players are trying to catch up to me… they study my game, how I play, they try to beat me… I have to be prepared for that.”
Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the world’s top two male players, have won the past nine Grand Slam titles combined.
Alcaraz is currently leading the chasing pack, having captured three of the past five major titles. However, he will need to be wary of Jannik Sinner, who has an opportunity to regain the world number one spot in the coming months.
- Alcaraz began the 2025 Qatar Open by defeating 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, 6-4, 6-4
- He then came through a tough match against Luca Nardi, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
- The Spaniard was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Jiri Lehecka, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6
The last Spaniard to win the ATP Qatar Open
The Qatar Open ATP event has been won by three Spanish players since its inception in 1993.
Rafael Nadal was the first to win the title in 2014, defeating Gael Monfils in the final. A year later, David Ferrer added his name to the trophy, beating Tomas Berdych in the championship match.
In 2019, Roberto Bautista Agut became the third Spanish player to win the title, defeating Stan Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic and Berdych on his way to the title.
Three years later, Bautista Agut repeated the feat, avenging his 2021 Qatar Open final loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili by defeating the Georgian in the 2022 final.
Since winning his second title in Doha, Bautista Agut has won two more titles in Kitzbuhel and Antwerp, taking his total number of titles to 12.
