Carlos Alcaraz's Qatar Open shock exit exposes biggest weakness in Spaniard's armor

Carlos Alcaraz was only two games away from winning the match against Jiri Lehecka at the Qatar Open. He lost, so what exactly happened, and how did the Spaniard lose a ‘won’ match? Let’s break it down.

Alcaraz is by far one of the most talented players of today, and there are essentially very few if any, players on Tour that could match the Spaniard's talent. His product on the court has, for the most part, been stellar. However, there have been times when things that realistically shouldn’t happen, have happened.

He’s not a player who necessarily throws away many matches, but at times it looks like he doesn’t win matches he is expected to win. That was the case recently at the Qatar Open, where he was beaten by Jiri Lehecka in three sets. Losing a match like that isn’t a massive problem because, in fairness, Lehecka is a very strong player who is not a great matchup for Alcaraz, but the manner he lost it was more problematic.

Alcaraz was up 4-2 in the final set and had one more break point to make it 5-2, which would likely have ended the match on the spot. Not only he failed to convert that break point, but also lost that set 6-4.

Part of why he lost is the difficulty of the matchup. Lehecka is a very aggressive baseliner with both power and accuracy from the baseline. It’s the profile of a player who can push around Alcaraz a little bit, especially on a slow hard court like the one in Doha.

Another reason why it happened is the Spaniard's serve, which hasn’t been a major weapon, especially in 2025. Lehecka was able to put a lot of pressure on Alcaraz from the get-go with the return, causing him massive trouble down the stretch.

It also doesn’t really create any free points for him which is essential on hard courts. It’s the year in which Sinner transformed his game ahead of what ended up being the Italian's ascension to the top of tennis.

Alcaraz needs to figure out that part of his game as well if he wants to continue being the dominant force in tennis he has been so far.

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Does Alcaraz have a focus problem?

ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open Round Of 16 - Source: Getty

Some have pointed out that Alcaraz might have a focus problem. It’s an interesting hypothesis but also one that is very hard to prove. What is focus, after all? Is it converting his chances? Is it holding under pressure? Is it playing your best when it matters most?

It’s not as easily defined, but there are certainly indications that Carlos Alcaraz does end up being way too careless in situations where he shouldn’t be. Take this final match against Lehecka, for example. When the match was being decided in the final set, Alcaraz truly didn’t play as precisely as he could have.

That wasn’t the first time it happened either, as he's had problems in the past as well, most notably on break points. There are a few matches where he will get himself into a chance to break the serve of his opponent and then completely disappear.

Take the Paris Olympics matchup against Novak Djokovic. He was highly favored to win that match for obvious reasons. Having won Roland Garros, Alcaraz was playing really great. Naturally, people assumed he would get a win over an aging Djokovic, but he didn't.

Part of that was because he didn’t win the opening set, which was pivotal. Alcaraz had eight break chances though but didn’t convert a single one and that’s just inexcusable. On clay, there is simply no reason to waste so many break chances, and it could have something to do with his focus.

Take his match against Novak Djokovic at this year’s Australian Open, where he once again played it a bit casually, and by the time he figured out he was in trouble, Djokovic was in control.

Stuff like that can’t happen, and while the matchups against Djokovic might have some other factors impacting them, it’s not the first time he seemingly disappears in matches, whether it be crucial moments or just entire sets.

It does make you wonder whether there are underlying focus issues because other times he’s great. It’s certainly not a pervasive issue, but something that comes up here and there and ultimately costs him matches. It might have cost him an Olympic gold, and if he never wins one, then it will remain one of those things that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Time will tell, but he’s certainly playing catch up in focus to the likes of Djokovic and Sinner, and that’s something that he’ll need to address if he hopes to become as great as he wants to be.