Alcaraz claimed an entertaining point in the fourth game of the second set, landing a volley winner and moving 3-1 in front. The four-time Major winner held at love for a 6-1, 4-1 advantage in 57 minutes. Nardi faced deuces on the return in game six, standing on the verge of exit door.

The 21-year-old Spaniard let his guard down in the second set, when his Italian opponent fought back from trailing 1-4 to force a decider.

Carlos Alcaraz withstood a spirited fightback from Italian qualifier Luca Nardi to seal his place in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open on Wednesday. At the Australian Open he bumped up against eventual winner Jannik Sinner in the last eight and in Rotterdam earlier this month he went all the way to the final before succumbing in three sets to Alcaraz.