The Spaniard had won his last 12 matches, but he was unable to overcome the challenge of Jiri Lehecka, who claimed his first victory over the four-time Grand Slam champion.

The pair engaged in an entertaining three-set battle, but it was the Czech player who emerged victorious on this occasion.

Carlos Alcaraz reflects on his Qatar Open defeat to Jiri Lehecka

Carlos Alcaraz fell behind before levelling the match by taking the second set against Lehecka.

The World number three even held a 4-2 lead in the deciding set and held a break point to extend his lead. Lehecka held his serve for 4-3, before winning the next three games to claim victory.

Post-match, Alcaraz struggled to explain why he lost, but does not expect the result to have a lasting impact.

“I have spoken to my team, to my coach, and honestly, I don’t know what I could have done better,” Alcaraz said. “Probably some serves or some points where maybe I didn’t play well.

“Honestly, I don’t know. It was a difficult feeling. I have to give him credit because he never gave up, even when he was behind. It was all about one point. That’s what makes tennis so difficult: one point makes the difference.

“Honestly, I’m not worried about a defeat. This one in particular, no. Because tennis sometimes has strange things, where being better than your opponent by 55-45, you end up losing. It happened today, but it’s not something to worry about.”

Following Alcaraz’s Qatar Open exit, he will have more time to work with his new coach Samuel Lopez.

He joined the four-time Grand Slam winner, which already includes Alcaraz’s long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Lopez has returned to Alcaraz’s coaching team after helping guide him to the Queen’s title in 2023, before he won his first Wimbledon title.

Excited to have Lopez back on board, Alcaraz said about his coaches: “Between them, they have a lot of confidence. Everything they are saying to me it was in the same way.

“So if they have to say something to me, before they talk between them, then they say just the one thing, so it’s a really solid team.

“They are different person. When I’m with Samuel, off the court he gives me calm, and I enjoy my time off the court with him. As I say, I don’t know what makes him different, but the group, the whole team, we are a really solid team.”