Carlos Alcaraz kept his winning run going at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open moving into the quarter finals with a 6-2, 7-5 win over France’s Valentin Royer.
The top seed looked in control early then he had to work harder when Royer jumped to a 5-2 lead in the second set.
Alcaraz raised his game at the right time and won the games he needed to finish it in straight sets.
It continues a strong start to 2026 for the 22 year old. He returned to the tour in Doha after winning the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam.
His opening match in Qatar was also a close one as he beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 7-6 (5) after saving two set points in the second set.
Next up is a tougher match against Karen Khachanov, the 2024 champion in Doha.
Alcaraz leads their head to head 5-0 but he has said he is not looking past anyone in a draw he described as really tough for an ATP 500.
The quarter final line up has also set up a possible big match later in the week.
Jannik Sinner moved on with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alexei Popyrin and had not faced a break point in his first two matches while Andrey Rublev, the defending champion beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (2).
If the seeds keep winning, Alcaraz and Sinner could still be on track to meet in the final.
