By Richard Pagliaro Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Photo Credit: Tennis TV Screenshot
Carlos Alcaraz Cast line with opponent Jannik Sinner in a Doha fishing trip last weekend.
Alcaraz faced a brief tennis storm today, with the score at 2-5, as he reached his second consecutive Doha quarterfinals.
World No. 1 Alcaraz beats opponent in five straight matches Valentin Royer 6-2, 7-5.
This was Alcaraz’s ninth consecutive victory and his 55th appearance in the quarterfinals.
Seventeen days after Alcaraz passed Novak Djokovic He won his first AO championship with 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 and made history by becoming the youngest person to complete a career Grand Slam 16 days ago. He continued to tame all challengers.
Alcaraz has won 64 of 69 games since last April, including a perfect 27-0 record on outdoor hard courts, including 11 straight finals appearances in 12 games.
The 22-year-old Spanish player will compete with Karen Khachanov for a spot in the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Earlier, seventh seed Khachanov blasted seven aces and saved five of six break points to defeat Marton Fucsovich 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. This is Khachanov’s first tour-level quarterfinal appearance since reaching the Toronto final last August where he lost to Ben Shelton.
Khachanov, the 2024 Doha champion, is winless in five previous meetings with Alkaraz. In their most recent meeting at the Round of 16 in Rome 2025, Alcaraz won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Facing former youth team rival Royer for the first time as a professional today, Alcaraz blasted a full forehand volley to break serve in the third game.
Alcaraz denied two break points, including an inside-out forehand winner on the second break point, and he hit an ace on the T-bar to make it 3-1.
Alcaraz broke serve again, 5-2. On serve, the Spaniard surged forward, guessing both passes and hitting consecutive forehand volleys to end the 36-minute first set.
Although Royer has a meager 1-5 record in this match this season, his tennis level in the second set was much higher than his current ranking of 60th.
Early in the second set, Royer often engaged in some intense baseline exchanges with Alcaraz as he started hitting the ball.
Solid groundstrokes and an occasional fall helped Royer get her first break of the second set. Royer’s backhand return from the top of the dribble dribbled across Alcaraz’s side of the court and the Frenchman scored and took a 3-1 lead.
Royale erased a break point when Alcaraz’s forehand went wide. The world No. 60 broke serve to extend the lead to 4-1. Alcaraz climbed out of Love-30 in the sixth to stay in the match, then Royale held on at 30 for a 5-2 victory.
Serving in the second set, Royer tried to attack, but Alcaraz’s forehand pass cost him. Two points later, Alcaraz hit a diagonal forehand winner for a triple break point.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion broke serve with a powerful forehand to lead 4-5. The sharp Alcaraz scored 12 of the 14 points to tie the score at 5.
Alcaraz hit a backhand spin pass to break serve for the second time in a row and take a 6-5 lead. Alcaraz hit his 17th forehand winner of the day to end the match in 95 minutes and improve his 2026 record to 9-0.
