Carlos Alcaraz lifted another title in 2026 and extends his unbeaten run this year, 12-0, against a defenceless Arthur Fils, who fell in only 50 minutes to the World No. 1 in the Qatar Open final. Alcaraz was always superior to his rival, who last reached a final in Tokyo 2024. Reaching the final, however, will help Fils jump to World No. 33 (his best position in the ATP rankings was World No. 14).
"I came this year hungry for more. After every tournament, we just have to set new goals", said Alcaraz (via ATP.com) who adds that it wasn't easy. "I had to be strong mentally with my team. I'm just playing great tennis and I'm really happy about this week. This trophy means a lot to me."
This is Alcaraz's ninth ATP 500 title, 26th title overall, and first title in Doha. With this victory, Alcaraz reaches Andy Murray as the player with more ATP 500 titles. Only Federer, Alcaraz (16), and Djokovic (14) are above him.
In the ATP rankings, Alcaraz jumps to 13,550 points, outpacing World No. 2 Jannik Sinner by 3,150 points, who unexpectedly fell in the semifinal against Jakub Mensik, later eliminated by Fils. Alcaraz knows for certain that he will continue to be World No. 1 until the clay season in April.
His next tournament will be Indian Wells, where he can improve from the 400 points he won last year, when he was eliminated by Jack Draper. The good thing for Sinner is that he can only add new points, as he did not play any tournament at this part of the year in 2025 due to his sanction.