By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, February 20, 2026
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Arthur Fils threw a spirited uppercut in the air punctuating a powerful knockout.
In a battle between two of tennis’ top young talents, Fils defeated Jakub Mensik 6-4, 7-6(4) powering into his fifth career final in Doha.
The 21-year-old Fils showed fierce firepower off both wings. Fils fired 19 winners against only 11 errors and saved seven of eight break points reaching his first ATP final since winning Tokyo in October of 2024.
The unseeded Fils will face world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in tomorrow’s final.
Alcaraz vs Fils, Head-to-Head: Alcaraz Leads, 2-0
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Round | Winner | Score |
| 2026 | Doha | Hard | Final | ??? | ??? |
| 2025 | Barcelona | Clay | SF | Alcaraz | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 2025 | Monte-Carlo | Clay | QF | Alcaraz | 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 |
Earlier, Alcaraz dethroned defending-champion Andrey Rublev 7-6(3), 6-4, raising his 2026 record to 11-0.
Alcaraz advanced to his 12th final in his last 13 tournaments, topping Rublev for the fifth time in six meetings.
Nineteen days after Alcaraz powered past Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to capture his first AO championship and make history as the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam, he improved to 29-0 on outdoor hard courts since last April. The 22-year-old Alcaraz is 67-5 since last April.
The explosive Fils, who is now working with former Wimbledon champion and ex-Novak Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic, missed much of the 2025 season after suffering a stress fracture in his back.
Playing with energy and enthusiasm, Fils frequently went toe-to-toe with Mensik in some crackling baseline exchanges one day after the 20-year-old Czech shocked world No. 2 Jannik Sinner 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 for the biggest win, by ranking, of his career.
Today, Fils broke at 30 for a 2-1 lead and confirmed the break at love, extending to 3-1. Using his legs to get low to the ball, Fils was hammering drives into the corners winning eight of his last 10 service points to serve out the first set.
The Frenchman broke for a 4-3 second-set lead, but Mensik banged his way back into contention in the eighth game. When Fils missed a mid-court forehand long, Mensik broke to get back on serve at 4-all.
Showing great guts, Mensik went all in on a massive second serve, skipping an ace over Fils’ outstretched racquet to hold for 5-4.
In the tiebreaker, Mensik slipped trying to come out of the corner and Fils exploited it earning the mini break for 3-1. Mensik missed a crosscourt backhand and Fils followed with a stinging serve down the T for a 5-1 lead.
Lasering a crosscourt forehand gave Fils double match point at 6-4. On his first match point, Fils pressed the Czech in a rousing 16-shot rally that ended with Mensik netting a backhand and Fils was through to the final in 95 minutes.
