Unusual scenes in Qatar: Carlos Alcaraz briefly loses his temper in the quarter-finals in Doha and gets into a heated argument with the referee. At the same time, his rival Jannik Sinner surprisingly fails to beat Czech talent Jakub Mensik.
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- Carlos Alcaraz clashes violently with umpire Marija Cicak at the ATP 500 tournament in Doha due to a timeout, but prevails in three sets against Karen Khachanov after losing the tie-break.
- Jannik Sinner surprisingly fails in the quarter-finals against Jakub Mensik, who is the first player outside the top 10 since 2023 to win on hard court against the Italian.
Carlos Alcaraz is a cheerful character. But even the world number one sometimes gets angry on the tennis court. At the ATP 500 tournament in Doha, his anger is directed not at his opponent Karen Khachanov, but at the umpire.
At 4:4 in the first set, shortly after Alcaraz had fended off a break point, the umpire warned the Spaniard for exceeding the time limit - Alcaraz had taken too long to serve.
The newly crowned Australian Open winner can't believe it and complains loudly to the umpire Marija Cicak. "Can't I get the towel," he complains. "I can't invent more time," replies the 47-year-old Croatian, explaining that she had already started the shot clock (25 seconds) later. Alcaraz complained that he hadn't even been able to wipe off his sweat after a long rally.
Petkovic: "It wears you down mentally and emotionally"
"The ATP time rule sucks!"The umpire countered dryly: "Okay, I think we've got your point."
The two continued to discuss the incident during the change of sides, with Alcaraz asking in vain for the infringement to be overturned. The 22-year-old then lost the tie-break, but was ultimately able to defeat the Russian (ATP 17) 6:7 (3:7), 6:4 and 6:4.
Cicak is a familiar face on the WTA Tour and has also made history on the men's tour. She was the first woman to officiate a men's final (Wimbledon 2021).
"That doesn't seem to fit in at all with what we're used to from Carlos Alcaraz," says former top player Andrea Petkovic. "It was a little strange. Maybe he doesn't know Marija Cicak that well either. She mainly works as a chair umpire on the WTA side. We all know how strict she is. You don't want to mess with her. She wears you down mentally and emotionally," said the German.
On Saturday, Alcaraz will face Frenchman Arthur Fils in the final.
Sinner surprisingly fails against Mensik
Alcaraz's great rival Jannik Sinner didn't have any problems with the referee in his match, but the Italian was defeated by Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals in Doha. The world number two was defeated by the Czech 6:7 (3:7), 6:2, 3:6.
The 20-year-old thus became the first player outside the top 10 since 2023 to bag a win against Sinner on hard court. Tennis expert Heinz Günthardt has had Mensik on his radar for some time. In an interview with blue Sport, he named the world number 16 as a possible candidate to bring down the established top stars. "At the age of 20, he has been playing extremely solidly for some time now. But he lacks athleticism here and there. He's not quite as supple," Günthardt sums up.
