Seeds go five for five as Carlos Alcaraz fends off Luca Nardi to lead Doha quarterfinalists

A day after Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas were sent packing in Doha, order was restored amongst the seeded players at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

Seeds went five for five across Wednesday as the quarterfinal lineup took shape, but not before Carlos Alcaraz shook off Luca Nardi’s sudden turnaround.

Alcaraz fended off his fellow 21-year-old competitor, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, for his seventh consecutive win. The top seed was challenged by Nardi, who ran off five consecutive games after dropping 10 of the first 12 to level the contest. The Italian memorably scored his first Top 5 win last March when he stunned Novak Djokovic as a lucky loser in the third round of Indian Wells.

The world No. 3 broke for 3-1 in the decider when Nardi yanked a backhand wide, then battled his way through a 12-point game to consolidate. He later served out the match at love, as his opponent's backhand return found the net.

Alcaraz is bidding to lift back-to-back trophies after celebrating his first indoor title last Sunday in Rotterdam over Alex de Minaur. Jiri Lehecka, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Fabian Marozsan, awaits.

De Minaur, the No. 2 seed, remained on course for another final collision with Alcaraz. The Australian defeated Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-4, 6-4, in upping his season record to 13-2. For a semifinal spot, he meets Andrey Rublev.

The No. 5 seed fired 11 aces in his 6-3, 6-4 win against Nuno Borges. Five of Rublev’s 16 career titles have come on the ATP 500 stage.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev continued his quest to end a title drought dating back to May 2023 by routing Zizou Bergs, 6-2, 6-1. The former US Open champion capitalized on five of his nine break points for his 300th career hard-court win.

In the last eight, Medvedev faces Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian, winner of two titles already this season, received a walkover from Hamad Medjedovic. The 21-year-old injured his hamstring in the prior round before valiantly battling through to eliminate Tsitsipas.

Eighth seed Jack Draper dispatched qualifier Christopher O’Connell, 6-2, 6-1, and gets either Matteo Berrettini or Tallon Griekspoor Friday.