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.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was defeated by Jiri Lehecka in the Qatar Open quarterfinals, despite a close contest. Lehecka will face Jack Draper in the semifinals. Andrey Rublev secured a tricky win against Alex de Minaur and will compete against Felix Auger-Aliassime,

On Thursday, World No. 3 Alcaraz took on No. 25 Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals. Lehecka overpowered Alcaraz throughout the two-hour, nine-minute match, taking the win in three sets: 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Alcaraz’s only other defeat in 2025 was to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The 21-year-old Spaniard, ranked No. 3, won the Rotterdam Open earlier this month.

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.