The last time Carlos Alcaraz faced Arthur Fils: How the match unfolded

Doha, Qatar – When Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Fils walk onto the hard court of the 2026 Qatar Open final on Saturday, they will be reprising a rivalry that has, so far, belonged entirely to the Spaniard. Their two previous encounters—both on clay, both last season—offer a concise but telling dossier on how this matchup has unfolded, and what the 20-year-old Frenchman must overturn to claim a first win against the world No. 1.

The most recent chapter came in the semifinals of the ATP 500 event in Monte-Carlo, a week after their Barcelona Open quarterfinal. On the Riviera, Fils produced the more complete display of his young career, dragging Alcaraz into a deciding set and securing the first break of the third. Yet the Spaniard, renowned for his accelerator gear on clay, reeled off the final four games to escape 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Seven days earlier at the Barcelona Open, Alcaraz had been faster out of the blocks. He seized the opener 6-2, then withstood a late surge from Fils to close out the second 7-5, preserving his unbeaten record against the Frenchman.

Those two wins extended Alcaraz’s perfect head-to-head to 2-0, but they also revealed the contours of a rivalry that could tighten on a faster surface. In Monte-Carlo, Fils’ heavier serve and willingness to attack the net briefly destabilised Alcaraz, whose returning position had to be adjusted mid-match. The Spaniard countered by shortening rallies and redirecting pace up the line, a tactic he may replicate on the hard courts of Doha.

Saturday’s final will be the first time they meet away from clay, a shift that could neutralise some of Alcaraz’s spin-heavy forehand advantage while amplifying Fils’ first-strike capabilities. The Frenchman, competing in only his third tournament since returning from a back stress fracture sustained at Roland Garros last year, has dropped just one set en route to the final, defeating Jakub Mensik—fresh off his upset of Jannik Sinner—in the last four.

Alcaraz arrives even hotter: the top seed has yet to lose in 2026, dismissing defending champion Andrey Rublev in straight sets to reach the final and eyeing a second title of the season.

Whether Fils can translate his recent hard-court form into a first victory over Alcaraz will hinge on replicating the early aggression that briefly put him ahead in Monte-Carlo. For Alcaraz, the blueprint is already written: start fast, as he did in Barcelona, and deny the Frenchman the confidence that comes with a lead. On Saturday night under the lights of Khalifa International Tennis Complex, the rivalry’s third installment will reveal whether clay-court lessons carry over to the desert hard court.