Carlos Alcaraz crushes Arthur Fils in 50-minute Qatar blitz

DOHA: Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, swept to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Frenchman Arthur Fils to become Qatar Open champion on Saturday and build on his undefeated start to the year.

Alcaraz, who won the match in 20 days after achieving the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, controlled the match early and scored 89% of his first serves and never gave up a break point in the 50-minute match.

Spaniard followed up his spectacular 2026 season with another overwhelming victory against unseeded Ugo Fils and earned his 12th consecutive win and ninth title in ATP 500, tying Andy Murray in the category that was inaugurated in 1994.

This victory is only 20 days after Alcaraz had won the Career Grand Slam in Melbourne, the youngest man to do so. Alcaraz established the atmosphere right at the beginning, serving Fils wrong in the first game and winning the first set within 28 minutes.

In the second set, he still dominated, and after a double break, he was 3-0 ahead, and Fils threw his racquet in his frustration. Once Fils briefly lost the serve, Alcaraz dominated with his better shot-making and control to be straight through to a sets victory in 50 minutes.

Alcaraz just fired 18 winners and only three by Fils, and has not been under a single break point. His victory was also marked by the shortest final of the past year, which demonstrated his speed, accuracy, and the legacy that he was developing.