Alcaraz Advances to Qatar Final, Maintains Perfect 2025 Record

Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz continued his unbeaten streak this season, defeating defending champion Andrey Rublev to reach the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final. The 22-year-old Grand Slam winner will face France's Arthur Fils in Saturday's championship match.

Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz extended his perfect 2025 season record on Friday, securing a spot in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open championship match after defeating defending titleholder Andrey Rublev 7-6 (3), 6-4 in Doha.

The tournament’s top seed now boasts an impressive 11-0 record this year. The 22-year-old recently made tennis history by completing the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open just three weeks ago.

Friday’s semifinal victory over the fifth-ranked Russian proved challenging for Alcaraz. Rublev managed to break serve twice while Alcaraz was attempting to close out the opening set, and the Spaniard ultimately required six match points across two separate games to finish off his opponent.

France’s Arthur Fils will meet Alcaraz in Saturday’s final after overcoming Czech Republic’s sixth-seeded Jakub Mensik 6-4, 7-6 (4). This marks Fils’ first appearance in a tour-level championship match since claiming the Tokyo title in 2024.

At the Delray Beach Open in Florida, fifth-seeded American Tommy Paul earned revenge in a repeat of last year’s final, defeating top-seeded compatriot Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in Friday’s quarterfinals. Paul dominated on serve while capitalizing on three of eleven break opportunities against Fritz, who won the Delray Beach crown in both 2023 and 2024.

Paul’s semifinal opponent will be fourth-seeded Learner Tien, who survived an all-American battle against eighth-seeded Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5.

American Sebastian Korda mounted a comeback against Norway’s second-seeded Casper Ruud, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a semifinal showdown with Italy’s third-seeded Flavio Cobolli. Cobolli advanced by defeating Hong Kong qualifier Coleman Wong 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-2.

In Rio de Janeiro at the Rio Open, Argentina’s eighth-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry prevailed over Portugal’s Jaime Faria 7-6 (4), 6-4 in an unusual quarterfinal encounter. The opening set went to a tiebreaker without any service breaks, but the tiebreaker itself saw neither player hold serve until Etcheverry finally did at 5-4, then won the next two points to claim the set.

Etcheverry will meet Czech Republic’s Vit Kopriva in the semifinals after Kopriva eliminated Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-4, 6-4. Peru’s Ignacio Buse secured the other semifinal berth by overcoming Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, while the final quarterfinal match between Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante and Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo was still in progress Friday evening.