Italian star Jannik Sinner was the headline act on the opening day of the men’s competition at the 2026 Qatar Open, and he did not disappoint.
Qatar’s very own Mubarak Shannan Zayid Al-Harrasi featured in the opening match as he took on Alexei Popyrin. Australia’s No. 2 men’s singles player proved too strong, as he only lost a couple of games and cruised to a straight-sets victory.
A few hours later, as night fell and the floodlights illuminated the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, world No. 2 Jannik Sinner stepped onto centre court for his maiden appearance at the Qatar Open. Awaiting him was Tomáš Macháč, who competed with determination and produced moments of resistance. But Sinner’s quality proved decisive, the Italian delivering a composed, authoritative display to secure a straight-sets victory.
Former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev rounded the action off with a win over Shang Juncheng in the sixth singles match of the day. Over in the doubles draw, No. 1 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool started their campaign off with a convincing win over the French duo of Ugo Humbert and Arthur Rinderknech.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will be the star of tomorrow’s show as he takes on Rinderknech in a first-round clash. This will be the Spanish sensation’s first match since becoming the youngest man to complete the career slam with his Australian Open triumph two weeks ago.
Defending Qatar Open champion Andrey Rublev and Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas are some of the other standout names in the singles draw. 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic was initially scheduled to join them, but ultimately withdrew from the tournament, citing fatigue after his heroic run to the Australian Open final.
The action will ramp up over the week as the tournament progresses through the rounds, culminating with the finals on February 21.
