Doha, February 19 (QNA) - World number one Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (500 points) on Thursday, defeating 2024 champion Karen Khachanov 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-final.

The 22-year-old Spaniard turned the match around after dropping the first set in a tiebreak, eventually claiming victory in two hours and 27 minutes on the main court of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. The win marks his sixth career victory over Khachanov in their head-to-head encounters.

This is Alcaraz's second appearance at the tournament, having been eliminated in last year's quarter-finals by Czech player Jiri Lehecka. The Spaniard, who has won 25 career titles including seven Grand Slams—most recently the 2026 Australian Open—now seeks his first title in Doha. He will face Andrey Rublev, the defending champion and fifth seed, who earlier defeated Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6.

In other quarter-final action, French player Arthur Fils reached the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over eighth-seed Jiri Lehecka. Ranked 40th in the world, Fils returned to competition just two weeks ago after a six-month absence due to a back injury.

Fils will face the winner of the quarter-final between second seed Jannik Sinner and 16th seed Jakub Mensik. (QNA)