Carlos Alcaraz is not alone: Yannick Sinner’s game takes center stage ahead of Doha tournament… | ATP Tour
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Alcaraz not alone: Sinners match takes center stage ahead of Doha…
Italy faced Tomas Machak in the first round
February 16, 2026
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This is Jannik Sinner’s first competitive match since losing to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.
Sam Jacott
There’s been a lot of discussion about the work Carlos Alcaraz does on his serve. But the Spaniard isn’t the only one eyeing the coup de grace. Jannik Sinner revealed on Sunday ahead of the ExxonMobil Open in Qatar that he has emphasized his serve ahead of his first ATP 500 event of the season.
“Honestly, at the moment [we are working] In ordinary things. “At the moment we are trying to get a very consistent serve and that is what we are working towards,” Sinner told a pre-match press conference in Doha. “There is also a lot in the gym, the gym sessions are very important. I try to take a step forward in this situation, that’s all.”
Sinner is the second seed in Doha this week and is tied with PIF ATP Ranking No. 1 Alcaraz for the lead. The Italian, playing his first match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals last month, hit 75 percent of his first-serve points and won 80 percent of those points, according to Infosys Stats.
While the defeat is disappointing, the Italians are keen to stress that the work done over the two weeks has built on the foundations laid during the team’s pre-season training in Dubai.
“The season has started. We got a lot of work done in the offseason,” Sinner said. “Now of course we’re trying to keep working but also keep our fitness levels up. I think everything is going well. Of course you need to play some games to try to get the best feedback.”
That feedback loop, where practice intensity translates into game performance, will guide his week in Doha as much as results.
“From my perspective, it also depends on how the training goes. If you feel good out there, you want to have the same intensity in the game,” Sinner said. “If something doesn’t work out well in practice, you try to do it a little better than it did in practice. So it depends, but at the same time I’m trying to improve as much as I can here. At the same time, try to improve and see what’s going well here.”
Sinner will make his debut at the ATP 500 event in Doha against Czech Tomas Machak. The world number two leads Mahak 2-0 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series and is excited this week because of his past success in the city.
“I won a junior tournament a few years ago, so it’s a very familiar place,” Sinner said. “Obviously it’s a different level now in the 500m here. But I’m very excited and let’s see what happens next.”
Sinner is 2,750 points behind world No. 1 Alcaraz in the PIF ATP live rankings. However, between now and Rome in May, the Italians have nothing to defend.
