Carlos Alcaraz extended his unbeaten streak to 11 matches in 2026 by beating defending champion Andrey Rublev 7-6(3), 6-4 in the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The world No. 1 advanced to his second final of the season after a two-hour match on Friday. Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner was upset by Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals.
Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 1, secured his place in the final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with a straight-sets victory over Andrey Rublev on February 20, 2026. The Spaniard, who recently completed the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, won 7-6(3), 6-4 in two hours and two minutes. This marked Alcaraz's fourth consecutive win against the No. 5 seed Rublev, who had claimed the Doha title in 2025.
Alcaraz entered the semifinal on the back of a three-set comeback against No. 7 seed Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals. During that match, he received a warning for a time violation under ATP rules, which limit time between points to 25 seconds. Against Rublev, Alcaraz stayed composed, winning the first-set tiebreaker and breaking serve to clinch the second set after an earlier missed opportunity to serve out the match.
In the other half of the draw, Jannik Sinner suffered an early exit, losing 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 to Jakub Mensik in their first career meeting on February 19, 2026. The Czech player, a reigning Miami Open champion, advanced to face Arthur Fils in the second semifinal. Hopes for a final between Alcaraz and Sinner, dubbed a potential "Sincaraz" matchup, ended with Sinner's defeat.
A win in the final would give Alcaraz a 12-0 record for the year and extend his points lead over Sinner to at least 3,080. He holds a 2-0 head-to-head record against Fils and will meet Mensik for the first time if the Czech prevails.
