Andrea Petkovic Warns Carlos Alcaraz to Be Wary of Umpire Marija Cicak After Argument in Doha: “She’ll Destroy You Mentally and Emotionally”

World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz is chasing his ninth ATP 500 title at the Qatar Open.

Andrea Petkovic Warns Carlos Alcaraz to Be Wary of Umpire Marija Cicak After Argument in Doha: “She’ll Destroy You Mentally and Emotionally”

Andrea Petkovic (circle, right) reacts to Carlos Alcaraz's argument with umpire Marija Cicak (circle, left) (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Elisa)

In Short
  • Carlos Alcaraz clashed with umpire Marija Cicak over a time violation during his Qatar Open match.
  • Andrea Petkovic warned Alcaraz to be cautious of Cicak's strict officiating style.
  • Alcaraz won the match against Karen Khachanov and advanced to the semifinals, improving his head-to-head record to 6-0.

Carlos Alcaraz was left fuming due to the shot clock rule. During his Qatar Open quarterfinal match against Karen Khachanov on Thursday (February 19), the Spaniard clashed with chair umpire Marija Cicak upon being given the time violation warning.

During the ninth game of the opening set, Alcaraz was drying himself with a towel following a stunning rally. Cicak gave him the warning, and he hit back, “So, I’m not allowed to use the towel?” The argument between them continued during the next changeover.

“I stopped it when you were close there, but I had to start it again. I can’t let it stop constantly. I can’t invent more time!” said Cicak. Alcaraz went on a rant about the ATP rules, saying, “The rule is always sh*t. Sh*t. It’s always the same. Always. Super unfair.“

But Alcaraz again received a warning, this time from former WTA player Andrea Petkovic. The German told Alcaraz to be wary of Cicak.

It was a little strange. Also, maybe he doesn’t know Marija Cicak well. She’s mostly chair-umpired on the WTA side. We all know how strict she is. You don’t want to get into an argument with her. She will destroy you mentally and emotionally.

Andrea Petkovic said on Tennis Channel

After losing the first set, Alcaraz won the next two and the match 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3, and booked a berth in the semifinals. The win helped Alcaraz improve his head-to-head record over the Russian ace to a perfect 6-0.

In his first semifinal in the Qatari capital, the seven-time Grand Slam champion is scheduled to lock horns with defending champion Andrey Rublev, who knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas. Alcaraz holds a 4-1 head-to-head lead over the World No.14, last beating him in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Cincinnati Masters.

Pablo Carreno Busta compares the Carlos Alcaraz-Juan Carlos Ferrero split with the Rafael Nadal-Toni Nadal split

Carlos Alcaraz parted ways with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero last December and worked with Samuel Lopez during the Australian Open, shutting down those who doubted him by winning the title with a four-set victory over Novak Djokovic in the final. So many theories emerged about the possible reasons for the split, with Ferrero later confirming that they couldn’t continue due to failed contract negotiations.

Carlos Alcaraz, Juan Carlos Ferrero (4)
Carlos Alcaraz, Juan Carlos Ferrero (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Tiempo De Tenis)

The split shocked the entire tennis world, including Pablo Carreno Busta, who used to be Lopez’s protege and has a close relationship with Ferrero and Alcaraz, and even trained in the 2003 French Open champion’s academy in Villena. Busta compared this player-coach split to that of Rafael Nadal‘s end of professional relationship with his uncle Toni Nadal. He said during his interview with AS:

Perhaps, in the long run, just like what happened with Toni and Rafa, there comes a point when it’s been many years. It’s a very close relationship because you share so much time with the player or the coach, and that wears you down. But I don’t know exactly what led Carlos or his team to make the decision, nor what led Juan Carlos to accept or reject certain conditions. I don’t know what those conditions were. I can’t say for sure what happened, because I don’t know. I’m no longer on the team, not even at the academy.

Busta also played at the Qatar Open as a qualifier. He lost in the first round to Quentin Halys. Although Busta lost in either the qualifiers or the early rounds of all the events he has played so far, Alcaraz is on a 10-match winning streak. The last time he lost a match was in the title clash of the 2025 ATP Finals at the hands of Jannik Sinner.

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