Carlos Alcaraz surprised by Jiri Lehecka in Qatar Open quarters

DOHA, Qatar — In a surprising turn of events on Thursday, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz faced his second defeat of the year during the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open, where he was ousted by the 25th-ranked Jiri Lehecka with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Alcaraz’s only prior loss this season came against Novak Djokovic during the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The 21-year-old Spaniard, currently holding the No. 3 ranking, previously claimed victory at the Rotterdam Open earlier this month.

In a post-match interview, Alcaraz expressed his confusion about the loss. “I’ve spoken with my team and my coach, and honestly, I’m not quite sure what I could have done differently,” he stated. “It was a bit of a tough situation for me. I also want to give credit to him, especially in the third set when he was behind; he refused to give up.”

Despite having a 4-2 lead in the third set and a break point against Lehecka’s serve, Alcaraz was unable to close the match. Lehecka rallied, winning the next three games to secure his spot in the semifinals.

Lehecka, aged 23, will move on to compete against eighth-seeded Jack Draper, who defeated Matteo Berrettini with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Reflecting on his victory over Alcaraz, Lehecka commented, “The match had its ups and downs from the start. Winning against a player like him is a huge accomplishment for me. I believed in my abilities and knew I could perform at a high level.”

He added, “I didn’t step back. I aimed to push him to his limits, and having trust in my game was crucial today.”

Earlier in the tournament, fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev narrowly escaped defeat, saving one match point while needing eight of his own to overcome second-seeded Alex de Minaur, winning 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8). This marks Rublev’s fourth semifinal appearance in Doha, a tournament he won in 2020.

Rublev’s next challenge will be against Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, who advanced to the semifinals after Daniil Medvedev retired during their match, following Medvedev losing the first set 6-3.

In a statement, Medvedev expressed disappointment about having to withdraw, citing food poisoning as the reason for his early exit. “I’m very disappointed to have to end my run here in Doha like this, especially since I felt I was playing well,” he said.

Auger-Aliassime, discussing the match on court, noted that Medvedev seemed to be performing well until his retirement. “I broke him and held my serve after that. Then, he informed the umpire that he preferred not to shake hands after the match due to feeling ill. I truly hope it’s nothing serious,” the Canadian remarked.