DAVIS CUP FINAL SUSPENDED: MATCH HALTED AFTER FAN MEDICAL EMERGENCY EVEN
The Davis Cup final was halted when a fan fell ill, with Italy's Flavio Cobolli alerting officials. After a 10-minute delay, play resumed with Italy leading Spain 1-0 in the quest for a third straight title.
During a critical moment in the second singles match of the Davis Cup final, play was suspended because a spectator in the stands became unwell. Italy's Flavio Cobolli was in the process of trying to break Jaume Munar's serve when a disturbance occurred in the crowd, and Cobolli noticed an issue with a spectator.
Munar had dominated the first set, winning it 6-1, and had taken a break of serve in the second set when Cobolli had an opportunity to break back. However, the game was stopped, and both players promptly went to their benches as medical personnel were summoned to the stands.
Courtside commentator Arvind Parmar praised Cobolli's quick reaction. He observed, "I have a clear view of that, right opposite that stand. Someone up there has fallen ill, so the crowd reacted very swiftly to draw attention to the situation, and Flavio noticed it immediately. Hopefully, that individual receives assistance as soon as possible. It appears to be in the top two rows of the stands. The situation isn't overly chaotic; they are attending to the person calmly, and I can see officials and first responders approaching them. Help has arrived."
Umpire Marijana Veljovic left her chair to confer with the players and captains on the court. Italian captain Filippo Volandri used the break to offer some advice to Cobolli, who had been struggling in the initial eight games.
The spectator was eventually escorted from the stands, and Parmar elaborated: "If that individual needs to be removed, there will likely be a significant delay to get them down and to safety. I can see a stretcher being moved, and though it's not confirmed if the person will be placed on it, the possibility exists that they may need to be brought down the stairs on it. I can confirm that this person will be removed, as the top row has been cleared to make way for their descent down the stairs, so there will still be a..."
DUBAI OPENER: TOP SEED FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME SURVIVES TENSE TIE-BREAK AGAINST ZHIZHEN ZHANG
Dubai Day 1: Discover how Felix Auger-Aliassime survived a tense tie-break, and Jack Draper made a winning return to the ATP tour.
Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Draper both made it through to the next round at the Dubai Duty Free ATP 500 Tennis Championships, which kicked off today.
Auger-Aliassime had to dig deep against China’s Zhizhen Zhang, coming out on top 6-3, 7-6 after a match that lasted just under two hours. He grabbed an early break in the first set, but the second set was a battle. He had six chances to close it out before finally getting over the line in a tense tiebreak. Relief was written all over his face as he left the court, stopping to sign loads of autographs for the fans who stuck around.
“I stopped counting the match points at some point; it was getting too frustrating,” Auger-Aliassime admitted afterwards. “As a player, you want to be in that position, but your mind plays tricks. I kept thinking, ‘I’m so much further from losing than he is; he should be the one who’s nervous.’ I just told myself, ‘If it goes to a third set, I’ll be ready.’”
Draper, back on the ATP tour after six months away, looked a bit off at the start and had to save a bunch of break points early on. But he settled in and took down Quentin Halys, a qualifier, 7-6, 6-3.
The British No. 1 had a tense moment at 4-5 in the first set, going to deuce three times before holding serve. He got two break points in the next game but couldn’t capitalise. In the tie-break, Draper shot ahead 5-2, lost his lead, but finally edged it out 10-8.
Asked how it felt to be back, Draper said, “It feels so good. Honestly, just being out here in front of a crowd, playing a tough opponent, it was tricky out there. Sure, I could’ve played a bit cleaner, but I haven’t been on tour for a while, so I’m really proud of today. I just want to keep going. This is what I love about being out here, competing, and feeling that adrenaline again.”
Draper’s time off gave him a chance to work on his serve. “My serve was always solid, but it could’ve been more consistent,” he explained. “I worked on a few mechanics, especially after my pec injury last year and the recent bone stress. I’m always looking for ways to get better. Honestly, my serve feels more reliable now than ever, and I just need to get my arm back to 100%.”
Before the tournament started, Draper and Auger-Aliassime popped by the stadium for a surprise session with young players. They ran drills, shared stories from their own careers, and tried to inspire the next generation.
“I think it’s amazing to give back, especially to kids,” Draper said. “I remember how inspiring it was for me to be around players like Andy Murray when I was younger.”
Elsewhere, Stan Wawrinka beat Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan 7-5, 6-3, and Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard survived three tie-breaks to win 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 against Moez Echargui.
THE ALCARAZ STANDARD: WHY ARTHUR FILS BELIEVES CARLOS IS PLAYING AT A "DIFFERENT LEVEL."
Alcaraz is unstoppable! Discover how he dismantled Arthur Fils in 50 minutes to win Doha and keep his 2026 streak alive.
Arthur Fils just couldn’t keep up with Carlos Alcaraz in the Qatar Open final. After the match, Fils admitted that the world No. 1 is simply “on another level” right now.
Earlier in 2025, Fils hit a career high of No. 14 in the ATP rankings, but things took a tough turn at the French Open. A serious back injury sidelined him for months. He tried to come back at the Canadian Open in August, got through two matches, but then had to pull out of the US Open and missed the rest of the season. He even skipped the start of 2026, pulling out of the Australian Open.
Finally, in February, Fils returned to the court. He made the quarter-finals in Montpellier but crashed out in the first round of the Rotterdam Open, losing to Alex de Minaur, who ended up winning the tournament.
Everything seemed to come together for Fils in Doha. He knocked out eighth seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarters, then took down sixth seed Jakub Mensik, who had upset world No. 2 Jannik Sinner to reach the final against Alcaraz.
But against Alcaraz? There was just no contest. The seven-time Grand Slam winner needed only 50 minutes to deliver a 6-2, 6-1 defeat and kept his perfect record against Fils, now 3-0.
Honestly, losing like that to Alcaraz isn’t something to be ashamed of. The guy hasn’t lost a match in 2026 and already has the Australian Open trophy this year.
“I played worse than I did earlier in the week. But he’s number one for a reason; undefeated since the start of the year, you get it when you watch him,” Fils said. “He’s on another level right now, and I’m just not there. Not even close.”
“I need to put in the work, but at the moment, I’m not at that level. He plays unbelievably well. I’ve got no excuses.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have been running the show in men’s tennis for the past two years. After this run-in in Doha, Fils is set to jump seven spots to No. 33, and he talked about what separates players like Alcaraz and Sinner from everyone else.
“They start fast, put on pressure right from the beginning, and play at such a high level it’s tough,” he said. “We’ll have to watch the match and figure out what happened.”
Even Alcaraz had some kind words for Fils and admitted he was locked in from the first point in Doha.
“Today I played great. I focused on keeping that up the whole match and started strong,” Alcaraz said. “Finals are where you have to show your best.”
“Honestly, Arthur didn’t start well. He made a lot of mistakes, which gave me the confidence to play more relaxed and stay calm. I was able to control the match, control every point, and always be in a good position.”
“I played solid, stayed aggressive when I could, and hit passing shots. It all came together. Arthur just came back four months ago, only played a couple of tournaments, and still made the final here after beating some really good players. I’m sure he’ll get back to his best soon.”
Read More News