The duopoly of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner has dominated the ATP Tour for the past two years; they are still dominating, but right now, it’s just the Spaniard on top. Since the beginning of the 2026 season, Alcaraz has delivered multiple fascinating performances already, going unbeaten in 12 consecutive matches.
This raises questions about whether the World No. 1 is unbeatable or who could best him in a singles battle, a question recently answered by World No. 18 Andrey Rublev.
Andrey Rublev Makes His Feelings Known on Carlos Alcaraz’s Performance
Alcaraz won the ATP 500 title in Doha at the Qatar Open this Saturday, February 21, defeating the Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1. This marked the second title for Alcaraz in the 2026 season and his 26th overall, after completing his career Grand Slam in Melbourne at the Australian Open.
On his way to the championship match, Alcaraz faced fifth seed Rublev in the semifinals, defeating the Russian 7-6(3), 6-4, thus ending his title campaign. He gave the World No. 1 a tough fight in the first set, with both players breaking each other twice, forcing a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Alcaraz took matters into his own hands and won the set, carrying the momentum to finish the match.
Just a few days after this tough defeat, Rublev was asked whether he thinks Alcaraz is unbeatable, to which the Russian replied,
“I think it’s more of a question for him because he’s the one winning the matches. My feeling is that I want to beat him. And that I want to be competitive enough to win titles.”
Since turning professional in 2014, Rublev has won 17 titles with a career-high ranking of World No. 5 in September 2021. However, the hunger of winning and capturing more titles is what drives the Russian, as he added, “You can’t get it into your head that he’s invincible. You have to respect Carlos and any other opponent, but at the same time believe in yourself and think you can win.”
He also emphasized the importance of trusting yourself before a match: “If you don’t believe it, it’s better not to go out on the court.”
Rublev reflected on his position in the World No. 1 ranking and was happy with his performance despite the loss. He said he was able to keep up with Alcaraz’s pace, power, and intensity, which was the first time he had done so against the Spaniard.
Rublev’s Performance Against Alcaraz’s Excellence
Rublev had a comparable performance throughout the match but couldn’t secure the crucial points needed to win. Even though Alcaraz committed more double faults and unforced errors, he also had more winners and more total points, which ultimately earned him a berth in the final on Saturday.
Alcaraz landed nearly 70% of his first serves, winning 62% of those points while managing to win nearly 50% of his second serve points. Rublev landed nearly 60% of his first serves and won around 65% of points on them, while winning just over 41% of his second serves, which made all the difference.
The Spaniard also hit 29 stunning winners along with 3 aces while committing 2 double faults and 33 unforced errors. However, Rublev only hit a single ace during the entire match while hitting only 21 winners, committing a single double fault, and 30 unforced errors.
Interestingly, Rublev delayed Alcaraz’s win: in the ninth game of the second set, he saved three match points to break the World No. 1. In the tenth game as well, he saved two match points before getting broken at 6-4 and ultimately losing the match.
Rublev is currently competing in Dubai at the Dubai Tennis Championships, another ATP 500 tournament. He defeated Frenchman Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-4 in the first round, before taking on Frenchman Ugo Humbert, whom he defeated 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.
Now, he will face another Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech, in the quarterfinal on Thursday, February 26, at the Centre Court.
