DOHA/WASHINGTON, February 17, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has become the third man born since 2000 to earn 150 ATP Tour-level wins on hard courts. On Tuesday evening, the 22-year-old Spaniard earned his fifth career victory over French No. 1 Arthur Rinderknech to advance to the second round of the ATP 500 Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha.
The top-seeded Alcaraz’s 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over the 30th-ranked Rinderknech, in which he saved two set points during the second set, was wrapped up in an hour and 47 minutes on Center Court. Alcaraz struck 27 winners and achieved an 85-percent success rate on winning points on his first serve. Although he converted just one of six break points, Alcaraz saved both break points he faced from Rinderknech, who countered with 25 winners of his own. Alcaraz outpointed his opponent 81-71.
The victory was the eighth straight for Alcaraz and it was his first match since winning the Australian Open title last month to complete a career Grand Slam. He’s the 10th Spaniard in the Open Era to achieve 150 hard-court wins.
Some way to win it
Alcaraz comes through a stern test against Rinderknech 6-4 7-6!@carlosalcaraz #QatarExxonMobilOpen pic.twitter.com/0tBzKrXgum
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 17, 2026
Alcaraz, who is on a 64-5 run since last April, has advanced to the finals in 11 of the 12 tournaments he’s competed in.
“It was really difficult,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview. “Arthur is a really dangerous player. Nobody wants to play against him in the first round. … I’m happy with the level. I’m happy that I got through difficult moments in the match. I’m happy that I stayed calm [and] positive, and played great tennis.”
In Wednesday’s second round, Alcaraz will face another Frenchman, No. 60 Valentin Royer, who won his opening-round match over 190th-ranked qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France on Monday.
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Rublev starts slow against de Jong but comes on strong
It’s been a year since Russia’s Andrey Rublev captured his 17th and most recent ATP Tour title in Doha. On Tuesday evening, the two-time Doha champion Rublev, ranked World No. 14, began his run to tie Roger Federer for most titles in tournament history (3) with a 6-4, 6-3 victory 86th-ranked Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands, who was in search of his second career Top-20 win. He’s won sixth straight matches in Qatar going back to the start of his 2025 title run.
Rublev remained unblemished (7-0) in Doha first rounds after hitting 28 winners and outpointing de Jong 60-53.
Next, Rublev will face No. 48 Fabian Marozsan of Hungary, who advanced over 36th-ranked Ugo Humbert of France, 6-3, 6-1.
Andrey advances
Defending champion Rublev produces a good performance to defeat De Jong 6-4 6-3 @AndreyRublev97 #QatarExxonMobilOpen pic.twitter.com/3nKUOo8Muo
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 17, 2026
Around the Khalifa Tennis Complex
Other first round winners include:
• No. 33 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who opened play on Center Court Tuesday by garnering his first in in Doha since 2018. Tsitsipas defeated 139th-ranked wild card Moez Echargui of Tunisia, 6-4, 6-4, in an hour and 24 minutes to advance against World No. 11 and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
• World No. 17 and 2024 Doha champion Karen Khachanov of Russia advanced over 117th-ranked Japanese lucky loser Shintaro Mochizuki, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, in an hour and 55 minutes on Center Court. Next, Khachanov will face No. 61 Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, who defeated 334th-ranked wild card Hady Habib of Lebanon.
• Two-time Doha semifinalist Jiri Lehecka of Czechia, ranked 22nd and seeded 8th, who has earned two of his six Top-5 wins in Doha, defeated No. 47 Jenson Brooksby, the lone American in the main draw, 6-3, 6-3, in one hour and 22 minutes on Grandstand 1. Brooksby is the first American man to play in the Doha main draw since Christopher Eubanks and Mackenzie McDonald in 2022. Next, Lehecka will play No. 44 Zizou Bergs of Belgium, who was a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 winner over No. 58 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France.
• Zhang Zhizhen of China, ranked 319th but playing with a protected ranking, and 72nd-ranked lucky loser Quentin Halys of France also won their first-round matches to advance.
Wednesday’s Doha order of play
By the numbers
With his win on Tuesday, Stefanos Tsitsipas is now 100-45 at ATP 500 level, highlighted by his 2025 Dubai title. He’s the eighth player to record 100 ATP 500 victories since the series began in 2009.
“Quotable …”
“The season has started. A lot of the work we have done was in the offseason. Now of course we try to keep working, but also to maintain the level of fitness, too. I think everything is going quite well. Of course you need to play some matches, trying to have the best feedback.”
– World No. 2 and second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, during his pre-tournament news conference before defeating Tomas Machac, 6-1-, 6-4, in his first-round match on Monday.
