Carlos Alcaraz opened his run on the Qatar Open with a straight units victory over Arthur Rinderknech, successful 6–4, 7–6.
The match was Alcaraz’s first since finishing the Profession Grand Slam on the Australian Open, and the Spaniard maintained his good begin to the 2026 season. He’s now 8–0 for the yr and has overwhelmed Rinderknech in all 5 of their conferences.
Alcaraz edged the opening set earlier than being pushed into a decent second set tiebreak, the place he stayed composed to shut out the competition. The win sends him into the spherical of 16 in Doha for the second time.
After the match, Alcaraz acknowledged the problem posed by his opponent.
“It was actually troublesome. Arthur is all the time a extremely harmful participant. No person desires to play him within the first spherical,” he stated.
“I’m pleased with the extent and blissful I acquired by way of. There have been troublesome moments, however I stayed calm, stayed optimistic and performed good tennis.”
Alcaraz will now look to construct on a strong opening efficiency as he continues his run in Doha.
