The Qatar Open attracts top players to Doha every February. With a new 500 ranking this year, the stakes are higher than ever.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00For more than three decades, the Qatar Open has showcased the biggest names in men's tennis
00:05who make sure to stop in Doha every February. And this year is no exception.
00:11The first edition of the Qatar Open took place in 1993, when German legend Boris Becker claimed
00:16both the singles and doubles titles. This year, the tournament has been upgraded to
00:20an ATP 500 level event, which means 500 ranking points are up for grabs.
00:26I sat down with top-ranked players Carlos Alcaraz and Alex Diminor, as well as fan
00:31favorites Stefano Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov, both looking to return to the top ten this
00:36season. Let's go behind the scenes to meet these elite athletes.
00:41Hello, I'm Carlos Alcaraz. I would like to get a Grand Slam, a few masterminds, or as
00:49much titles as I can this year.
00:51Carlos, it's your first time playing in Doha. You've been compared to legends like Nadal,
00:55Federer and Djokovic. How do you handle those comparisons and what keeps you grounded?
01:01For me, it's honestly a privilege to be compared to those legends. But I try not to think about
01:13it just too much. I just try to keep going my own path, thinking about myself. I have
01:18to appreciate the comparisons. I mean, people are comparing you with the best and the legends
01:25from our sport.
01:26At such an early age in your career, your name brings the fans here, just like your
01:31idol Rafael Nadal. Did you ever imagine your own journey, your own success would happen
01:37so quickly, right on the heels of Nadal's?
01:39Well, honestly, I didn't expect to be in the position that I am right now, at such a young
01:48age. I just try to work as hard as I can, and try to achieve the things that I have
01:54achieved right now. I'm just 21, hopefully, a lot of years ahead. But I'm just happy to
02:02have done everything I've done already.
02:04You started playing at the early age of four, and you credit your father with a lot of your
02:09success, playing a crucial role in your development. Tell us about the role he's played in your
02:12life.
02:14He got me into tennis, and I think he has done the right things. You know, always development
02:21during my whole career, my whole life. He has been a really important person in my life.
02:27He knows tennis really well. He knew how to separate the personal life at home, and then
02:32the tennis life. So I think that was really important for me. Thanks to him and the right
02:37decisions he made, I'm here right now.
02:42My name is Alex De Minore, and my goal is to win a lot of tennis matches this year.
02:47Alex, you're coming off an incredible 2024. Now, it's your first time in Doha. Your nickname
02:51on the court is The Demon. That sounds pretty intimidating. How do you incorporate that
02:55into your playing style?
02:56Well, look, I think it's got a lot to do with my competitive spirit, and that side of things.
03:05Obviously, every time I step out on court, I want to win. I do my best to do that, and
03:10I'm always going to compete. So the other players in the locker room know that whenever
03:15we're going to go into a match, it's always going to be a battle, and I'm there from the
03:19very first point to the last. So that's something that I've worked on, and it's kind of part
03:24of my DNA now.
03:26You split your childhood between Spain and Australia. How do you think your multicultural
03:29upbringing contributed to you becoming one of the top players in the world?
03:33I was able to experience a lot, live a lot. Two completely different cultures, two different
03:41ways of living, of playing tennis. So I think I was able to get the best of both worlds
03:48from a very young age, and I was able to mature quite quickly due to that. And then I've been
03:56fortunate to be able to learn many things from different cultures to incorporate in
04:01the type of player that I am today, and I think it's definitely been a very important
04:05aspect of my life.
04:09Stefanos Tsitsipas, my goal for the season is to be back into the top five.
04:13You were part of a group of players that challenged the dominance of the big three, Djokovic,
04:17Nadal and Federer. You had a challenging 2024, one that saw you fall out of the top ten.
04:23How are you feeling now, and what do you need to do to get back to top form?
04:27First of all, I would say that it's been hard not being in the top ten. There was a period
04:32of acceptance and trying to rebound from it, but knowing what the work entails and what
04:39I need to do in order to get back at it, I'm pretty positive. With the right structure
04:43in my game, I might find myself back into that position again. Over the last few years,
04:49the game has increased, the game has gotten better, and the competition is harsher than
04:54ever before.
04:55Tennis is in your family's DNA. Your father was your long-time coach. While you're not
04:59working with him now, tell us how his approach affected your playing style, and why did you
05:03choose to go in a different path now?
05:05He instilled a very strict, disciplined mindset into my game, and he was really insisting
05:13in a lot of things that we were working on throughout the years. I decided to part ways
05:18with him because I felt like it was a little bit too much for me, and the relationship
05:23between son and father started intensifying, and it wasn't easy for me to deal with this.
05:29I felt like it was a very positive thing to back down a little bit and start deciding
05:35myself about certain things. I feel like that will help me move forward. I felt, obviously,
05:39the responsibility and the intensity of all of it, knowing that now I am in charge.
05:48Hi guys, it's Grigor Dimitrov out here, and I have quite a few goals for this year.
05:52Number one is to stay healthy, and second is to compete my heart out.
05:56Grigor, you just had to withdraw from the Australian Open due to an injury. You currently
05:59sit just outside the top 10. What do you need to do to get back to the top 10?
06:03I think this has been definitely one of the most difficult start of the years that I've
06:08had in a really long time. Everything that we've thought that we're going to do with
06:13the team has not really panned out to be the way that we wanted to, so we had to just take
06:20a step back and reassess everything that we have done. I don't really put any expectations
06:26on myself or anything that I have to do to that extent. I think it's more important to
06:32have a good build-up, to start trusting in the body, trusting yourself, and build the
06:37right confidence.
06:38You're the most successful Bulgarian player in history. Clearly, there's a sense of
06:41national pride. You donated ventilators to your hometown hospital during COVID, and you
06:46support a lot of children's aid agencies. Tell us why this is so important to you.
06:49I just always wanted to give back, whether it's to my home city, to Bulgaria. I think
06:57in the end, ultimately, it all comes down to not what you get, it's what you give. I've
07:06been so fortunate throughout all my career with so many blessings and amazing people
07:11around me with all the fortune and misfortune. Things have really come in such a beautiful
07:17way. I just want to make a difference sometimes, because I know what it is, I know where I
07:23come from, I know what it cost me. I just want to share the wisdom and experience. If
07:29I can save some sort of experience or unpleasant experience to people, to kids, to share with
07:38the nation, of course, I think it's important to me.
07:41On the court, they are rivals driven by passion and determination. But off the court, they
07:46share similar challenges and family dynamics. That's all the time we have for this episode.
07:51We'll see you next time on The Dialogue.