(VIDEO) Arthur Fils smashes his racket with some force after given uphill task in Qatar Open final against Carlos Alcaraz

Tempers were spilling over the edge in the final of the ATP Qatar Open as Arthur Fils hunted for a first title since 2024. He was not in luck, losing 6-2, 6-1 to the world number one Carlos Alcaraz in a bruising performance.

It was a tough day out for the ever-improving Frenchman who has caught the eye since making a return from injury. He made it to the Open Occitanie quarterfinal before losing out to eventual champion Felix Auger-Aliassime before being forced into a first round exit in the ABN AMRO Open to Alex de Minaur. There was a pattern emerging in his return that if he is going to lose, it will most likely be against the champion, and that was no different in Doha.

He dropped one set in the entire tournament and that came in the first one against Kamil Majchrzak. He followed this up by sending fellow Frenchman Quentin Halys to the airport before taking down the top two Czech Republic players. He showed his class in a controlled performance against Jiri Lehecka before defeating fellow rising talent Jakub Mensik, who the day before got a massive win over world number two Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz had already enjoyed a lot of big wins against Fils. The 21-year-old reached three consecutive Masters 1000 quarterfinals at the start of 2025 before a lower back injury put him firmly on the sidelines for a large chunk of time. In the third one at the Monte Carlo Masters, Carlos Alcaraz got the better of him in three sets before getting the job done slightly quicker in the semi0final if the Barcelona Open.

Fils was looking for revenge, but he was facing a formidable force. Alcaraz, yet to lose a match in 2026, had already been crowned as the Australian open champion, completing the career Grand Slam at the age of 22 while cementing his name among the greats.

He looked to continue his flawless start this year against Fils with a maiden title in Qatar just around the corner for both players. Alcaraz got off the better, breaking in the first game enroute to a 2-0 lead. Fils got a first game on the board but before he knew it was 5-1 down. Alcaraz saw out the first set with ease before breaking to love to kick off the second set.

It was too much for Fils to take, and he could not keep his anger in check. He smashed his racket on the floor four times. The results showed how much power he put into it with the racket completely destroyed. He let go on the final one as it flew off in a different direction, steam still coming out of his ears.

Alcaraz had won ten points in a row before Fils finally managed to win his first point in the second set but fell behind 4-0. It looked like an almost impossible task for Fils to get back into this match and in the end Alcaraz sealed an incredible 26th ATP title.

Fils will stick around in the Middle East for a bit more time as he searches for his first title since coming back to the sport. Those trio of Masters 1000 quarterfinals looms perilously close with a lot of ranking points set to come off from his purple patch last year where he rose to a high of world number 14. He will kick off the Abu Dhabi Open with a rematch against Jiri Lehecka.