The 2026 Qatar Open drew to a close with the men’s singles final between Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz and French youngster Arthur Fils.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz’s final act at the end of a memorable week in Doha saw him crush Arthur Fils in the final.
The Spanish sensation had played some high-quality tennis in previous rounds, scoring a comeback win over Karen Khachanov in the quarter-final before taking down defending champion Andrey Rublev in the semi-final. Fils, for his part, had also looked sharp as he defeated two seeded players in Jiří Lehečka and Jakub Menšík en route to the final, but it was not to be his day.
Alcaraz broke serve in the very first game of the match, getting an advantage that he would not relinquish. His opponent offered little by way of resistance as the Spaniard wrapped up the first set 6-2 in about half an hour.
The freshly crowned Australian Open champion got off to an even better start in the second set, breaking to love in the first game and going on to put up a 4-0 advantage on the scoreboard. Fils was missing some fairly straightforward shots as he grew increasingly frustrated, and even boiled over as he smashed his racket in anger after being broken consecutively.
The No. 1 seed remained unfazed and emphatically marched on towards an inevitable victory, capping it off with a lovely forehand passing shot on Championship point. With that, the 22-year-old claimed his 26th career singles title, continuing an incredible start to 2026 by preserving a 100% winning record 12 matches in.
Fils was gracious in defeat, crediting Alcaraz for his mightily impressive performance. Speaking to his rival at the trophy ceremony, he said, “You played very good and you made a hell of a job, man, it’s a joke!” The Frenchman also expressed happiness with his overall performance at the tournament, having recently recovered from a long-term injury.
That was that for two weeks of world-class tennis action at the 2026 Qatar Open. Earlier on Friday, Harri Heliövaara and Henry Patten defeated top seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash to claim the men’s doubles title. Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunić won the women’s doubles title on the previous weekend, while Karolína Muchová claimed the singles crown.
The world’s best tennis players will return to Doha around this time next year for the 2027 Qatar Open, which is also set to be held in February. The newly crowned men’s champion is likely to return, as he spoke highly of the hospitality and said, “I can’t wait to come back next year, for sure.”
