Carlos Alcaraz overwhelms Fils to win Doha final; schedule and coverage
carlos alcaraz defeated Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1 in the final of the ATP 500 in Doha, conceding only three games as the match lasted 50 minutes. The final had been scheduled for Saturday 21 February on the central court of the Khalifa International Complex at 19: 00 Spanish time (21: 00 local).
Carlos Alcaraz in Doha
Alcaraz reached the Doha final after a hard-fought semifinal victory over Andrey Rublev, age 28 and ranked 14th in the ATP, by 7-6, 6-4 in 2h03. Jannik Sinner had fallen earlier in the tournament in the quarterfinals. The Doha title is the 34th final of Alcaraz's professional career; in his 33 previous finals he had always faced an older opponent, making this the first time he contested a final against a younger rival.
Final score and key moments
The championship match ended 6-2, 6-1 in favor of Alcaraz. The contest lasted 50 minutes and featured an early break against Arthur Fils in the first set, another break in the second set and the Frenchman breaking his racket at the third game of the second set. The margin left Fils with only three games won in the entire match.
Arthur Fils: comeback and background
Arthur Fils, 21 years old and ranked number 40, reached the Doha final after a comeback from a stress fracture in the L5 vertebra that he suffered in the second round of Roland Garros against Jaume Munar; he won that match but could not continue afterward to play against Andrey Rublev. Fils returned in Toronto where he won a match against Pablo Carreño and then had to stop again until February. His official return was in Montpellier, where he reached the quarterfinals and lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime, the eventual champion. He later played in Rotterdam and lost in a difficult debut to Alex de Miñaur, the winner of that tournament. In Doha his final appearance will ensure that he exits the following Monday ranked 33.
Coaching move and comments
Fils has reinforced his team with the addition of Goran Ivanisevic, a former coach of Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Elina Rybakina. Fils said of Ivanisevic that he is "un campeón excepcional, ganador de un Grand Slam, y entrenó a muchos, muchos campeones" and that he is very, very happy that Ivanisevic has joined them for the long road ahead, adding that it could be the best thing for him to have Ivanisevic's experience as a coach and player.
Broader context and accolades
The Doha crown represents Alcaraz's second trophy of the year; earlier he had been crowned on day 1 at the Australian Open. At 22 years old and described as "de El Palmar, " Alcaraz is credited in the coverage with 26 career titles. That same coverage states he has "26 títulos, a solo uno de David Ferrer —con 26, tercero en el escalafón histórico del tenis español—" and that he sits two trophies clear of Jannik Sinner, 24, and Alexander Zverev, 28. The Czech Jakub Mensik was quoted as saying, "Después de ellos [Alcaraz y Sinner], no hay nadie. Y luego estamos el resto…"
Additional context appearing in the material notes a date: 14 April 2025, coinciding with the conclusion of the Masters 1000 of Montecarlo where a player reached the quarterfinals and was defeated by Alcaraz; the ATP voted that match as the best match of 2025. For historical context, the first time Alcaraz played a circuit match against a younger opponent was in the third round of the 2024 Australian Open against Junchen Shang.
Broadcast and coverage details
The Alcaraz–Fils final was available live on television through the signal of Movistar+, with narration by José Antonio Mielgo and commentary from Roberto Carretero. The match could be followed on Movistar Plus+ on dial 7 without permanence. The coverage offering also included a live minute-by-minute feed, point-by-point action, images and videos of key points and moments, match chronicle, statements from the protagonists and all reactions provided by the special envoy Nacho Albarrán. Readers were invited to comment on the articles, to subscribe free to the newsletter and to enable alerts in the App or the WhatsApp channel; the coverage page also included the prompt "Rellene su nombre y apellidos para comentar. "
For the result itself and the sequence of events—from Rublev semifinal to the scheduled time on Saturday and the final's 6-2, 6-1 outcome—all items above are drawn from the provided event material.
Unclear in the provided context: the final fragment of one of the pieces ends mid-sentence at "poco o nada tiene. "
Closing: Carlos Alcaraz added the Doha ATP 500 title to his season, defeating Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1 in a 50-minute final played at the Khalifa International Complex, after reaching the match by beating Andrey Rublev 7-6, 6-4 in 2h03 and with Jannik Sinner having exited in the quarterfinals.
