Carlos Alcaraz stunned by Jiri Lehecka in Qatar Open quarterfinals
DOHA, Qatar — Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz lost for just the second time this year when 25th-ranked Jiri Lehecka beat him 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open.
Alcaraz's only other defeat in 2025 was to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The 21-year-old Spaniard, ranked No. 3, won the Rotterdam Open.
The 23-year-old Lehecka, who is from the Czech Republic, next will face either eighth-seeded Jack Draper or Matteo Berrettini.
'The match was up and down since the beginning,' Lehecka said after beating Alcaraz. 'So for me to win a match like that against a player like this is a super big achievement. I believed in myself. I knew that I had the level to produce that kind of tennis.
'I didn't back down,' he continued. 'I wanted to push him to his limits. The way I trusted my game was the key today.'
Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev saved one match point and needed eight of his own to subdue second-seeded Alex de Minaur 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8). Rublev reached his fourth semifinals in Doha, where he won the title in 2020.
He'll next face Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Daniil Medvedev when the Russian retired after losing the first set 6-3.
'Unfortunately, I had food poisoning. Very disappointed to end my run here in Doha like this as I feel like I was playing well,' Medvedev said in a statement.
Auger-Aliassime said on court he thought Medvedev was 'playing normal' until he retired.
'And then I broke, I held my serve. And he just told (the umpire) that he didn't want to shake our hands because he was sick. I hope it's nothing too bad. I was surprised,' the Canadian said.
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