Carlos Alcaraz Left Puzzled But More Confident After Shock Loss In Doha

Friday, 21 February 2025 at 11:00

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byErik Virostko

Carlos Alcaraz felt like there wasn't anything he could have done better to avoid losing in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Qatar Open in Doha.

Alcaraz took on Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 event in Doha, and it was a proper fight. After a slow start, it seemed that the Spaniard had everything under control, as he led 4-2 and 40-30 in the third set of the match.

Yet, in a span of a few minutes, he lost the third set of the match 4-6, exiting the competition already in the quarter-finals. It was undoubtedly a disappointing loss for Alcaraz, but he couldn't identify in which are he could improve.

Speaking after the match, the 21-year-old player admitted that after analyzing the match with his team, he felt like there weren't many things he could have done better.

"I've talked with my team, with my coach, and honestly I don't know what I could have done better. Probably a few serves, a few points that probably I didn't play a good point. Honestly, I don't know."

Of course, Alcaraz could see himself playing some of the rallies better. He also felt like if he had broken at 4-2, he might have won. At the same time, he gave credit to his opponent, who played a very good match to reach the semi-finals in Qatar.

"It was kind of a difficult feelings, I guess. I mean, I have to give credit to him as well, because when he was down, especially in the third set, he didn't give up."

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"It was about one point. I think that's what makes tennis really difficult. One point makes a difference. At 4-2 break point, it was just a few centimetres down in the net, so it could turn the match completely. But then 4-3, he started playing great tennis."

"Probably I could have done a bit better from 4-3, but his game was incredible. He was returning pretty well, really aggressively, no mistakes, or almost no mistakes, so that's what I have to learn. Next time, I just have to keep going when I am up in the match, with serves. But in my mind, I don't know what I could have done better, and I give credit to him."

Despite losing in the quarter-finals of the event, Alcaraz admitted that he leaves Doha with confidence. His next tournament is the Indian Wells Open, where he's a two-time defending champion, having won the tournament in 2023 and 2024.

"I love the tournament. I think the tournament is amazing. Everything for the players, I think everything is really easy. The people who work here make this tournament really special."

"I leave Doha with the head up, with confidence, and really, really happy with everything that I've done here and how I felt here with my team. I'm going to come back next year."