"I leave Doha with my head held high": Carlos Alcaraz remains upbeat despite Qatar Open quarterfinal upset defeat

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz has stated he is satisfied with his performance in the Qatar Open despite suffering a surprising exit. The 21-year-old is often regarded as the best player currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz has recently participated in the Qatar Open where he lost in the quarterfinal to Jiri Lehecka with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Talking after the match, the young Spaniard stated that he remains satisfied with his performance. He stated that he will leave the country with his head held high.

“I love the tournament, I think it’s an incredible event, it has all the facilities possible for the players, it makes everything very easy,” he said. “I leave Doha with my head held high, more confident and very happy with what I did here, with what I felt with my team. I will be back next season. I spoke with my team, with my coach and, honestly, I don’t know what could have been done better. I probably could have served better at certain moments, or in certain rallies where I didn’t end up playing a good point. Honestly, I don’t know. I guess I have a complicated feeling right now, but I have to give all the credit to Jiri because, when he was down on the scoreboard, especially at 4-2 in the third set, he never gave up.”

Alcaraz started the 2025 season brightly. His first mega event this year where he lost in the quarterfinal to the former world number one Novak Djokovic with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Just before coming to Doha, Alcaraz featured in the Rotterdam event where he lifted the title. In the final, he got the better of Australia’s Alex de Minaur with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.