World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz was at his absolute best in the final of the Qatar Open as he bested Arthur Fils by 6-2, 6-1. Alcaraz was proud after winning his second title of the season. Earlier, Alcaraz had won the Australian Open by beating Novak Djokovic in the summit clash.
The Spaniard needed only 50 minutes to go past the Frenchman as he dropped only three games. Alcaraz dropped only one set against Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinal clash of the tournament and he carried his rich form in Doha.
“I played great. I played amazing,” Alcaraz said. “Every match is different, every match has their styles. I know he’s not too far from his real Arthur level. I know in this tournament he has done it, also in the battles we played before. He did a lot of his mistakes today. For me, I just tried to be focused on myself. I think I played really aggressively, and I didn’t do any mistakes at all. I was serving well, returning well.
“I am just proud. I’m going to put it Top 10 matches or Top 15 matches, just in terms of level.”
Alcaraz is currently 12-0 in the ongoing season and said he doesn’t measure success by the number of different trophies in his glittering cabinet.
“I think for me, success is more than lifting trophies. I would say, for me, success is about how you feel and how you see yourself,” Alcaraz said. “I think I’m just really proud, and I already have success, because I learn about every match. On and off the court, I’m learning about everything, and every experience that I’m having in my life.
“As you can see, I’m a totally different person and player than back in 2022 when I got the No. 1 spot and my first Grand Slam. So I’m just trying to grow up as a person, as a player, and getting mature and seeing myself in a position that I just really like to be. I think for me that’s the real success.”
The Spaniard admitted he still needs to make a lot of improvements in his game to continue his rich form.
“There is always room for improvement,” Alcaraz said. There’s always room for weaknesses. As I said, I don’t know if it was at the beginning of the tournament or after the first match, that I can see myself with weaknesses. I’m just trying to improve in the practices, just trying to be better on the matches.”
Alcaraz will be next seen in action at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, where he is a two-time champion. The hard-court event starts on 4 March.
