(VIDEO) "I will wait for you man" - Valentin Royer sends out warning to Carlos Alcaraz at the net after losing in Qatar Open
ATPThursday, 19 February 2026 at 17:00
Carlos Alcaraz survived a scare yesterday in the last-16 of the Qatar Open against Valentin Royer. The world number one continued his flawless streak in 2026 with a 6-2, 7-5 win in Doha. The match was concluded with a nice meeting at the net where Royer joked that he will one day compete with him and his archrival Jannik Sinner.
The Qatar Open is the first tournament Alcaraz has played since his triumphant run in Melbourne where he became the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final after completing a thrilling tournament.
He cemented himself as one of the greats, but he will be looking towards the next task at hand. It was supposed to be the ABN AMRO Open where he was set to defend his title in Rotterdam but opted out of it due to his deep run in Melbourne.
That meant his next tournament would be the Qatar Open. He took down Arthur Rinderknech in a tight opening match before facing off against another Frenchman in the form of Royer. It is fair to say that the world number 60 has not enjoyed his time on court this year, winning just one match in 2026. That came against qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the opening match in the Qatar capital. He was finally on the board but now had the daunting task of taking down Alcaraz.
Alcaraz and Royer share laugh at end of match
The first set was a sign of things to come. Alcaraz broke the serve enroute to going 3-1 ahead, and the exact same pattern occurred as the 22-year-old managed to see out the set. It looked like another routine victory was set to occur, but Royer decided to make a game of it.
He broke the Alcaraz serve and at one point went 5-2 ahead. This is when Alcaraz turned up the gears and showed his class, winning the final five games in imperious fashion to survive a slight scare and take the match in straight sets.
Royer would have been disappointed not to force a third set but this not get in the way of him having a nice moment at the net right after the conclusion to the match. "I will come, you and Jannik. Don't worry, someday," he said to Alcaraz who was laughing at this prospect. "I will wait for you man," he responded as they shared a smile while exiting the court.
Alcaraz will continue to march on in this tournament. His next opponent will come in the form of Karen Khachanov with the possibility of facing Sinner in another final very much on the cards.
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