The 21-year-old Spaniard let his guard down in the second set, when his Italian opponent fought back from trailing 1-4 to force a decider.

Alcaraz meets the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka for a place in the last four on Feb 20. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Carlos Alcaraz and Luca Nardi met for the first time on the professional circuit in the second round in Doha. World no. 3 and the top seed was the favorite, and he proved that on the court. Carlos bested his coeval 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in an hour and 52 minutes for a place in the last eight.

Carlos Alcaraz navigates past Luca Nardi to reach the Qatar Open quarterfinals, overcoming a second-set challenge. The top-seeded Spaniard will face Jiri Lehecka next. Other notable matches include Daniil Medvedev advancing to the final eight and Alex de Minaur preparing to battle Andrey Rublev.