Sinner springs back to form with assertive Doha debut

Doha [Qatar], February 17: Jannik Sinner began to turn the sting of recent heartbreak into renewed purpose at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha on Monday as he thrilled the crowd with a striking debut performance at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2026.
Two weeks after his five-set defeat to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Sinner returned to winning ways with a rock-solid 6-1, 6-4 win over Tomas Machac at the hard-court ATP 500 event in Doha. With his 70-minute victory, the second seed extended his winning streak at this level to 11 matches, having won titles in Beijing and Vienna last October.
"Today was a little bit worse than yesterday," Sinner said of the windy Doha conditions. "But you have to adapt to every situation and condition on the court. We also played a couple of matches before, so I knew a little (about) what to expect. I felt good on court today. Physically I feel good. Every match is going to get tougher, so hopefully I will be ready for the next one."
During his ruthlessly efficient first-round performance, Sinner dropped just six points on serve, and expertly handled an explosive start to the second set from Machac. After letting slip three match points on return - in the ninth game of the second set, which featured scintillating winners from both men - Sinner sealed the victory with a statement finish behind his own delivery.
With top seed and fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz also in fray, Sinner will look to maintain the pair's stranglehold whenever they share a draw. Since Andrey Rublev's triumph in Madrid in May 2024, no player other than Sinner or Alcaraz has captured a tour-level title at an event featuring both of them.
Sinner will next take on Alexei Popyrin, who eased past Qatari wild card Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6-0, 6-2.
Jakub Mensik and Arthur Fils also booked their spots in the second round on Monday in Doha, where they rallied to three-set wins. Sixth seed Mensik overcame qualifier Jan Choinski 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4 and Fils defeated Kamil Majchrzak 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.
Results
Singles (Round of 32)
2-J Sinner (ITA) beat T Machac (CZE) 6-1, 6-4; K A Fils (FRA) beat Majchrzak (POL) 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 6-4; J Mensik (CZE) beat J Choinski (GBR) 6-7(6-8), 6-2, 6-4; V Royer (FRA) beat P Herbert (FRA) 6-0, 6-3; A Popyrin (AUS) beat M Shannan (QAT) 6-0, 6-2; 4-D Medvedev beat J Shang (CHN) 6-4, 6-2.
Source: Qatar Tribune