Alcaraz, celebrating 5 years since his first ATP match: "It's been a dream come true".

Mission accomplished for Carlos Alcaraz in Doha. For his very first match in the Qatari tournament, the number 1 seed was pushed around by Marin Cilic, but finally managed to win in two sets (6-4, 6-4), in a match in which he had to work hard to win in two sets.

In his penultimate service game, at 4-3 to Cilic, Alcaraz had to save three break points to prevent the Croatian from serving to win the second set, then again had to save a break point just as he was serving to win the match.

Moments after the win, Alcaraz took to the court to talk about his first impressions of the match.

"I'm really pleased that I was able to win that service game (at 4-3 in the second) and give myself a chance to stay alive in the set.

Marin is an excellent player who puts a lot of pressure on you when you're on serve. He always returns very well.

I'm glad I stayed calm, got back into my routine and made some good shots. I'm delighted to win in two sets.

It's true that tomorrow (February 18), it will be five years since I played my first match on the circuit (in Rio in 2020 against Albert Ramos-Viñolas, victory 7-6, 4-6, 7-6).

It's been a dream come true since then. I've had to face some complicated moments. But since that first victory, everything I've achieved has been a dream.

I've become world number 1, I've won Grand Slams, I couldn't have dreamt of anything better," he assures us.