Qatar Open rocked by upsets as Alcaraz, de Minaur, Medvedev fall

Carlos Alcaraz, Alex de Minaur and Daniil Medvedev all lost at the Qatar Open in Doha on Thursday (AST), taking the top remaining seeds out of the draw.

Top seed Alcaraz was a $1.22 favourite at Marantelli Bet against world No.25 Jiri Lehecka, yet he suffered a surprising three-set defeat.

Despite hitting more winners, fewer unforced errors, and leading 4-2, 40-30 in the deciding set, the Spaniard lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes.

“I think the most important part was I believed in my game and did not back down,” Lehecka said after the match.

“Even when I was missing shots in the third set, I wanted to play my game style, be an aggressive player and push him to his limits.

“I was just waiting for the right moment to put all these things together and it happened when I broke him back in the third set.”

Second seed de Minaur also fell in a tight final set, saving seven match points before falling on the eighth in a third-set tiebreak to Andrey Rublev.

The 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(8) win for the Russian and marks his first victory over a top-10 opponent since August 2024.

“I know this feeling of saving some matches like that,” said Rublev, who also saved a match point during the two-hour and 39-minute clash.

“When you save one crazy match point out of nowhere that looks like the match is done, and then it starts to turn around.

“You start to have this focus that helps you a lot. You’re not stressed anymore, and the other guy starts to stress, he starts to rush.

“I know how it is because I’ve been in this situation.

“So that’s why when I started to stress and I lost myself I was like, ‘Okay, at least just fight until the end’.”

Rublev will take on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals after the Canadian advanced when No.4 seed Medvedev withdrew following the first set of their match.

No.8 seed Jack Draper was the only player to avoid an upset on Thursday, beating Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to make his fifth ATP Tour semi-final.

The day’s results mean that Rublev now leads outright betting in Doha, with top tennis bookmakers paying $2.87 for the world No.10 to win the Qatar Open.

Draper holds the second line of betting at $3.50, while Lehecka and Auger-Aliassime are close behind on $4.

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