World number three Carlos Alcaraz was left ruing a mistake that let Jiri Lehecka off the hook in the third set and allowed the Czech to fight back and claim a 6-3 3-6 6-4 victory in the Qatar Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

Carlos Alcaraz had a golden opportunity to lift another ATP 500 trophy. With Jannik Sinner’s suspension and Novak Djokovic’s first-round elimination, the Spaniard was the top favourite to take the title at the 2025 Qatar Open.

Carlos Alcaraz crashed out of the Qatar Open in the quarter-finals on Thursday after losing to Jiri Lehecka, the Spaniard heading for the exit along with second seed Alex de Minaur. Fifth-seeded Rublev let slip a 5-2 lead in the final set as De Minaur scrambled back into contention to force a tiebreak.