Sinner springs back to form with assertive Doha debut

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February 16, 2026
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16-February-2026

Sinner springs back to form with assertive Doha debut

Doha: 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.