"Carlos Alcaraz is still very young" - Boris Becker comes to Spaniard's defense amid criticism after heartbreaking Qatar Open loss

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise defeat in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Qatar Open on Friday (February 21), losing to the unseeded Jiri Lehecka in three sets from a winning position. Boris Becker subsequently defended the Spaniard from criticism surrounding a lack of consistency.

Alcaraz began his last-four encounter against World No. 25 Lehecka in less than ideal fashion, dropping the first set 3-6. Although the top seed was able to restore parity by winning the second set, he wasted a 4-2 lead in the deciding set to eventually succumb to the Czech big-hitter by a scoreline of 3-6, 6-3, 4-6.

Following his loss, Carlos Alcaraz's fluctuations in level during big matches came under fire from tennis insider Jose Morgado.

"Alcaraz was 4-2 40-30 in the 3rd set and five minutes later he lost the match. The way he completely disappeared from the court for two half sets just cannot happen at this level. And he knows that…" Morgado wrote in his report of the Spaniard's quarterfinal loss in Doha.

Seven-time Major winner Boris Becker, however, is willing to give the 21-year-old time to mature, going by his response to Morgado on X (formerly Twitter), where he praised the latter's "style" and "charisma".

"Carlos is still very young (21), consistency will come with age …but still love his style and charisma!" Boris Becker wrote on X on Thursday.

Although the nature of Alcaraz's last-four exit at Doha was concerning, it should be noted that he has won 11 of his 13 tour-level outings in 2025. The World No. 3 reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January, before picking up his first indoor hardcourt title in Rotterdam earlier this month.

---

Carlos Alcaraz: "We try to do well in every tournament because World No. 1 is an objective"

Carlos Alcaraz will be looking to do a three-peat at Indian Wells this year (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz finds himself in an advantageous position with Jannik Sinner will be out of action for the next three months. Last week, the 21-year-old expressed his aspirations of becoming the World No. 1 again while speaking on his rival's doping suspension.

"As for the sanction, there is little to say. Whether Jannik plays or not, we try to do well in every tournament because number one is an objective," Carlos Alcaraz told AS (translated from Spanish).

Alcaraz will now be looking to get some well-deserved rest as he hasn't entered either of the ATP 500 tournaments in Dubai and Acapulco next week. The Spaniard will be eager to defend his Indian Wells crown in March.