The key by which Alcaraz turned around a very complicated match against Khachanov

Carlos Navarro | 19 Feb 2026 | 21.35

This is why Alcaraz defeated Khachanov in Doha. Source: Getty

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The victory achieved by Carlos Alcaraz in his quarterfinal match at the ATP Doha 2026 against Karen Khachanov could be summed up in one clear word: evolution. The development and outcome of the match are evidence of how much the player from Murcia has progressed in the last year and a half, covering gaps of the past and leaving behind disconnections and moments when it seemed like his body language was dropping to the level of the match.

The one from El Palmar found himself on the other side of the net facing a highly motivated Khachanov. The Russian adhered to his style... and even ventured slightly out of his comfort zone: more aggressive than usual, pounding his forehand and seeking crosscourt shots more frequently, with a clear mission: denying the center of the court and control of the baseline to Carlos. Not only that: he was very sharp on returns, disrupting Carlos's second serves, causing around a 10% drop in his first-serve percentage.

Nevertheless, Alcaraz held his ground and managed to take, amidst ups and downs, the first set to the decisive tiebreak. Alcaraz would end up with 22 unforced errors in the first set, especially feeling the mistakes in the forehand area, a shot that was truly erratic. Still, the stretch of the match from the tiebreak to 2-2 in the second set was an absolute show of force from Karen. The Russian averaged a 9.7 overall grade, did not lose a single point in an offensive position (keeping Carlos at zero points won in defense for four games and a tiebreak is achievable by very few), averaged a 9.8 with his forehand, and did not fall into a disadvantaged position in any situation with his crosscourt forehand. He was solid on the backhand, served like an angel, and executed winners with his forehand... but maintaining perfection is very difficult for three consecutive hours.

Averages of Khachanov from the tiebreak to 2-2 in the second set. It was almost perfect.

This is how Alcaraz turned around his match against Khachanov: consistency, serving emerges... and crosscourts change everything

The Russian left a small gap for Carlos in that 2-2 game. He slightly lowered the intensity... and the player from Murcia, in a spark of brilliance, abandoned his somewhat apathetic body language to realize that he had the physical superiority and explosiveness over Khachanov. How difficult it is to maintain an outstanding level for more than two hours against geniuses like these, and how easy it is for Carlitos to raise his performance when he smells the opponent's blood.

Like a shark, several aspects evidenced a complete turnaround in the match. Firstly, the serve/return battle became decisively dominated by Alcaraz. Karen's level on returns dropped by over two points (from 9.4 in the first set to 6.1 in the second: the Russian stopped intimidating Carlos on second serves, allowing the Spaniard to win the baseline more often), Alcaraz increased his attack percentage by 4%, and, above all, it was he who started finding the crosscourts to subdue his opponent.

In the second set, it was the crosscourt forehand that allowed him to tie down Khachanov, forcing unforced errors; in the third, Alcaraz found himself in many more advantageous situations than disadvantaged whenever he attempted crosscourt shots. Not only that: he did it with special frequency, managing to find his crosscourt forehand in 16% of the points, the second most repeated pattern (he hit more crosscourt forehands than down the line), while with the crosscourt backhand he also gained a lot of benefit.

Through crosscourts, Alcaraz gained control of the match. He found many more advantageous situations: here, data from the third set.

All of that, of course, made possible thanks to his improved percentages with the first serve and his ability to shut down the Russian's returns: Khachanov lost the center of the court on his second and third shots, allowing Alcaraz to dominate and find the crosscourts to deprive him of oxygen, to make him suffer more and more with each executed counter. Carlos was patient, consistent, knew how to exploit the shortcuts granted by the duel, and went from strength to strength: a demonstration of tennis, but also of professionalism. A match to show that consistency and the regularity of your best level ultimately become the border separating legends from the very good players. Onto the semifinals, where Andrey Rublev already awaits.

Images and data from Insights by Tennis Viz

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La clave por la que Alcaraz remontó un complicadísimo partido ante Khachanov