Carlos Alcaraz dethrones Andrey Rublev, rides unbeaten streak into Doha final

Carlos Alcaraz won an 11th match in a row on Friday, dethroning defending champion Andrey Rublev, 7-6 (3), 6-4 to reach the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final.

The world No. 1 is playing his first tournament since completing the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open and is into his second final of the season in two hours and two minutes.

Hopes for a first “Sincaraz” final of 2026 were dashed when No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner crashed out of Doha in the quarterfinals to reigning Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik. Mensik will contest the second semifinal against a resurgent Arthur Fils.

The results mean Alcaraz is poised to extend his lead over Sinner to at least 3080 points—with the chance for an even bigger lead should he secure a 12-0 record with the Doha title.

Rublev, who lifted the Doha trophy in 2025, has beaten Alcaraz in the past but the No. 5 seed has now lost four matches in a row to Alcaraz despite two close sets on Center Court.

Alcaraz, 22, was coming off a three-set comeback against No. 7 seed Karen Khachanov, during which he hit out at the ATP’s time violation rules when he was issued a warning for exceeding the 25 seconds allotted between points.

The Spaniard was more focused on Friday in the first set tiebreaker, and shook off a lost opportunity to serve out the match by breaking for the win one game later.

Looking ahead to the final, Alcaraz would be facing Mensik for the first time, while he owns a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over Fils.