Alcaraz aims for another final after resisting and frustrating Rublev

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Carlos Alcaraz does not release the accelerator pedal. The Spaniard once again gave a master class in fighting against Andrey Rublev, who, although defending the title at this ATP Doha, ended up bending the knee to the king of the circuit by 7-6(3), 6-3. In this way, the world number one achieves his eleventh consecutive victory and will fight for his second title of the year against Arthur Fils or Jakub Mensik, three weeks after lifting the trophy at the Australian Open.

The duel between champions took place early in the evening in Doha. On one side, Andrey Rublev, the defending champion, and on the other, Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one and the new champion of the Australian Open. A clash of natural hitters seeking a spot in Saturday's final.

Here's how Alcaraz's hard-fought victory over Rublev in Doha unfolded

The week for the Murcian has not been a walk in the park; in fact, it has been a rollercoaster ride. First, saving two set points against Arthur Rinderknech, then coming back from 5-2 down against Valentin Royer, and finally, defeating the best version of Karen Khachanov.

Therefore, despite carrying a heavy load of minutes in his legs despite it being an ATP 500, the Murcian did not want another long battle. So, in the fifth game, he broke the Russian's serve and took a 4-2 lead in just 23 minutes. But Rublev was not going to make it easy; although he didn't capitalize on his break opportunities in the next game, he did so when Alcaraz was serving to take the first set, making it 5-5 with everything still to play for.

The issue is that Alcaraz has made it clear time and time again that he hates losing. Moreover, in the game where he lost serve, Rublev approached the chair umpire at 30-40. This move seemed to displease the Spaniard, who, despite losing that game, used it as fuel to break in the next one, confirmed by his shouts upon achieving it.

Everything seemed to indicate that the world number one was not going to let this opportunity slip away, especially when he had a set point, but Rublev persisted and sent the tightly contested first set to a tiebreak. There, on his third chance, Alcaraz was not going to let go of the first set (7-6), much to Rublev's frustration, who responded by hitting his knee several times with his racket until the strings broke.

A match full of break points

If anyone thought the match would ease up, they were mistaken because Rublev came out seeking revenge and had two break points to start the second set, but once again, the world number one was there to thwart them.

Rublev's frustration grew as he watched Alcaraz reach every ball and halt any attempts. The Murcian, swift on the court, established a 3-0 lead and started to edge closer to the final in Doha.

Until the Muscovite, unwilling to fall behind, seized an opportunity from a double fault and a poor drop shot from the Spaniard to level the second set at 3-3. Once again, Carlitos had to fight against the current, as he had been doing all week in Doha. He adapted to the rollercoaster the match had become to avoid further surprises and broke for the fourth time. However, when serving to enter the final, after having a match point, Rublev broke back.

In a match full of breaks, the Russian served to make it 5-5. This time, Alcaraz nailed the final nails in Rublev's coffin, not without providing his share of suffering and entertainment, and sealed another hard-fought victory (7-6(3), 6-4), his fourth of the tournament so far, earning a spot in the second final of the year. He already knows his opponent in the final, either Arthur Fils or Jakub Mensik, who, if they want to defeat the world number one, will need to pray to all the gods, play a flawless match, and be fortunate. Otherwise, they will succumb to the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz.
 

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz se apunta a otra final tras resistir y desquiciar a Rublev