Carlos Alcaraz vs Marin Cilic Prediction 2/17/25 Doha Tennis Picks

With Jannik Sinner suspended, Alcaraz will be the top seed at the Qatar Open. It will be his debut appearance and will start his campaign against former US Open champion Marin Cilic.

Alcaraz had played in one tournament before Rotterdam and that was the Australian Open - the year's first Grand Slam. He lost in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row, this time to Novak Djokovic in four sets.

Alcaraz has a lot of points to make up and catch Sinner at the top of the rankings. The Italian will be out of action for at least three months after agreeing to a doping ban.

Marin Cilic Preview

Marin Cilic will be playing his first tournament of the 2025 season. Cilic will use a protected ranking to play in Doha. This will be the Croatian's second main draw appearance at the Qatar Open. 

Cilic was beaten in the quarterfinal on his maiden visit by Karen Khachanov. He's spent the last years nursing knee injuries. He played two matches in 2023 and took a lengthy layoff to undergo surgery. 

Cilic marked his comeback last year at the end of August and won an ATP title in Hangzhou in September, becoming the lowest-ranked ATP champion in history at No. 777.

That success helped Cilic motor in the rankings. He is ranked 195th before his first match in Doha.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Marin Cilic Head-To-Head

• Alcaraz and Cilic have met four times on the ATP level.

• Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 3-1 and last defeated the Croatian en route to his first Grand Slam at the 2022 US Open.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Marin Cilic Prediction

Cilic is unlikely to pull off the upset here. This is his first match since early November. He's played a very limited schedule since his comeback from injury. At 36, and having undergone multiple knee surgeries, it's very much understandable that health takes priority for him. Still, he'll want to be competitive. He's always given Alcaraz some problems in this matchup, with their US Open five-setter fresh in his memory. With that said, this match just came too early on his return. Alcaraz winning in two is the safe pick.