Spain's Carlos Alcaraz hits a return against France’s Arthur Rinderknech during their men's singles match in Doha yesterday. AFP
Doha, Qatar: Carlos Alcaraz made a victorious start to his Qatar ExxonMobil Open campaign at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday, withstanding a challenge from Arthur Rinderknech to advance with a 6-4, 7-6(5) win.
Playing his first match since lifting the Australian Open title and becoming the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam, the world No.1 was tested throughout yesterday’s Round of 32 clash by World No. 30 Rinderknech.
Alcaraz saved two set points on serve in a tense second set before prevailing in the tie-break to secure his 150th tour-level hard-court win.
“Well, I think it was a great level,” Alcaraz said of his opponent after the match.
“It’s always, I’m going to say, a nightmare, playing the first round against Rinderknech, to be honest. But I think we put up great points. I’m just happy with the way that I performed today. It’s a positive first round, and hopefully, keep it going in the next round,” the 22-year-old said.
“All our matches are always really tight,” Alcaraz explained after extending his head-to-head record to 5-0 against the Frenchman.
“He has an annoying game. With the serve, trying to go all the time to the net, he’s really big, and at the net, he covers a lot of the court. It’s really difficult making the passing shots,” Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz praised the atmosphere at the state-of-the-art venue, noting he enjoyed the support.
“It was great. It wasn’t full, but the people were great. I’m grateful and happy with the support. I know it’s Ramadan right now, so probably it’s more difficult for people to come to the matches. But I’m happy to see a lot of people coming to the event.”
Alcaraz, who extended his flawless start to the 2026 season to 8-0 with yesterday’s win, stressed that his ambitions remain high.
“There are a lot of Masters 1000s, there are three Grand Slams, the Masters, the Davis Cup,” he said.
“I’ll try not to have too many losses this year. I’ll try to participate in as many tournaments as possible. I’m really ambitious. I don’t want to lose.”
At the Doha Round of 16, Alcaraz will take on another French opponent, world No.60 Valentin Royer, who overcame Pierre Hugues Herbert in the first round.
Former Doha champion Karen Khachanov of Russia also advanced.
Seventh seed Khachanov was pushed to three sets before overcoming Japanese lucky loser Shintaro Mochizuki 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to book his place in the next round.
Meanwhile, Jiri Lehecka, who knocked out Alcaraz a year ago in Doha, continued his solid form with a straight-sets win over American Jenson Brooksby, 6-3, 6-3.
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced comfortably, defeating Tunisian wild card Moez Echargui 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting with 2023 champion Daniil Medvedev in what promises to be one of the key clashes of the round.
