DOHA, Qatar — In a strong performance at the Qatar Open, top seed Carlos Alcaraz secured a spot in the round of 16 by defeating Croatian veteran Marin Cilic with a score of 6-4, 6-4 on Monday.

At 36 years old, Cilic, a past U.S. Open champion from 2014, has seen a decline in his ranking, currently sitting at No. 192. This match marked his season debut, following a lengthy recovery from a knee injury. During the second set, Cilic had a moment of hope as he led 4-3 and held a 0-40 advantage on Alcaraz’s serve. However, the Spanish player managed to come back, breaking Cilic’s serve shortly after.

“I’m just really happy that I managed to stay composed during that crucial moment, maintaining my routine and focusing on each point,” remarked Alcaraz. “That’s why I was able to clinch the victory in two sets.”

Next, Alcaraz is set to face either China’s Zhang Zhizhen or Luca Nardi from Italy.

In an earlier match that day, seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov fell to Jiri Lehecka, losing 6-4, 6-4. In another matchup, eighth-seeded Jack Draper triumphed over Alexei Popyrin with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (4), setting him up for a contest against fellow Australian, Christopher O’Connell.

As Tuesday approaches, several prominent players are scheduled to compete in their opening matches. Second seed Alex de Minaur will be up against Roman Safiullin, while Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from the Australian Open semifinal due to a hamstring injury, is looking to make his return against Matteo Berrettini.

Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also slated to appear on the court on Tuesday, adding excitement to the tournament’s lineup.