Jiri Lehecka upsets Carlos Alcaraz in quarterfinals of Qatar Open

There was a significant upset in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open in Doha on Thursday. For only the second time this season, the world number three and four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz of El Palmar, Spain was beaten.

In the third of four quarterfinal games, Alcaraz lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic. Alcaraz is currently third in the world and Lehecka is 25th. Lehecka had the small advantage when it came to serving. Lehecka had eight aces and two double faults and Lehecka had seven aces and three double faults. Lehecka also broke Alcaraz four times in eight opportunities.

This was only the second time head-to-head Alcaraz has faced Lehecka. Alcaraz won their only other prior match 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of Queen’s in 2023. Prior to the match, Alcaraz’s odds of winning the match was at -474.

So far this season, Alcaraz lost to Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the 24-time major champion, in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Then earlier this month, Alcaraz won his 17th ATP title, when he beat Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the final of Rotterdam. 

Lehecka, however, was not able to keep the momentum as he lost in the semifinals on Friday to Jack Draper of Great Britain, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3. In the final, Draper will face Andrey Rublev of Russia. Draper is the eighth seed, and Rublev is the fifth seed. Rublev has won all three prior matches against Draper. Rublev’s wins came in the second round of Madrid in 2022 (2-6, 6-4, 7-5), second round of Washington in 2022 (6-4, 6-2), and the fourth round of the 2023 United States Open (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4).

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