DOHA — In an exciting matchup at the Qatar Open, top seed Carlos Alcaraz defeated Croatian veteran Marin Cilic with a score of 6-4, 6-4 on Monday, securing his place in the round of 16.
Cilic, 36, who won the U.S. Open in 2014, faced Alcaraz after a challenging return from a prolonged knee injury. This match marked his season debut, and he managed to lead 4-3 in the second set, even gaining a 0-40 advantage on Alcaraz’s serve. However, the young Spanish player displayed his resilience by turning the tide and breaking Cilic in the very next game.

Alcaraz expressed his satisfaction after the match, stating, “I am just really happy that I stayed calm at that moment, breathing, going through my routines, making good points. That’s why I was able to win in two sets.”
The next challenge for Alcaraz will be against either China’s Zhang Zhizhen or Italy’s Luca Nardi, who are both set to compete in their next round.

In another notable match earlier in the tournament, seventh-seeded player Grigor Dimitrov was unable to advance, losing to Jiri Lehecka with scores of 6-4, 6-4.

On Tuesday, several top-ranked players are anticipated to make their tournament debuts. Among them, second seed Alex de Minaur will square off against Roman Safiullin. Additionally, Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from the Australian Open semifinal due to a hamstring injury, is set to play against Matteo Berrettini.
Others expected to compete that day include Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.