Tsitsipas Topples Medvedev To Earn Doha Last Eight Berth

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas (photo: Qatar ExxonMobil Open)

DOHA/WASHINGTON, February 18, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

With eight second-round matches on Wednesday’s order of play at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, the Khalifa Tennis Complex was buzzing with action. By the end of the day, eight quarterfinalists remained in the 34th edition of this ATP 500 outdoor hard-court event that dates back to 1993.

Until Wednesday, Stefanos Tsitsipas hadn’t reached the quarterfinal round of an ATP Tour event since Barcelona last April. The luck of the 33rd-ranked Greek star changed as he advanced to his 84th tour-level quarterfinal with a satisfying 6-3, 6-4 upset of World No. 11 and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia to highlight afternoon action on Center Court.

Tsitsipas became the sixth man born since 1990 to reach 50 hard-court quarterfinals with his 76-minute victory over the 2023 Doha champion. He did it by winning 80 percent (36 of 45) of his first-serve points, faced no break points on his serve, converted two of seven break-point chances and outpointed Medvedev 67-53. Tsitsipas improved to 7-0 in matches in which he’s won the first set this season.

During his on-court interview, Tsitsipas was asked what it took from him to get back to an ATP Tour quarterfinal after such a long respite. He replied: “Well, a lot of grit, a lot of high intensity. Today, I showed a lot of consistency and just the willingness to stay out there and fight point by point. 

“I was really glad with the way my game kind of came together, especially towards the end. I’m very happy with my serving because that gave me a lot of points, and I was able to build a lot of confidence and a lot of authority.”

• World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz reached back-to-back quarterfinals in Doha after rallying to beat No. 60 Valentin Royer of France, 6-2, 7-5,  in a hour and 35 minutes in their first career meeting. The 22-year-old Spaniard has started his 2026 season on a nine-match winning streak, after becoming the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open. Meanwhile, Royer came up short in his attempt to be the first player to beat Alcaraz outdoors since Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon Championships final last July. 

After Alcaraz dominated the opening set, Royer rebounded nicely and led 5-2 in the second set before the seven-time major champion mounted a comeback to break the Frenchman twice – winning the final five games of the second round match – to pull out the straight-set victory for his 27th-straight outdoor hard-court triumph. Alcaraz overcame 26 unforced errors to hit 24 winners, converted four of eight break points and outpointed Royer 75-57.

During his on-court interview, Alcaraz was asked if he had any doubts about winning in straight sets despite being down a double break.

“Obviously I had to be prepared for everything,” he said. “There were some moments when I thought about a third set, I’m not going to lie, but obviously it was just a small place in my mind that was thinking that. The rest was working to find solutions, to find the right way again.

“I’m just really pleased and really happy I was able to find good rhythm again, and good tennis. It’s just about fighting. I know tennis. It’s just about one point, and sometimes it is really difficult to close out the set or the match. I just had to stay there, and I’m happy I turned it around and got the win in straight sets.”

Next, Alcaraz will face World No. 17 and 2024 Doha champion Karen Khachanov of Russia, who converted three of six break points and defeated No. 61 Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, for his second-straight three-set win of the tournament. 

• Speaking of Sinner, the World No. 2 from Italy brought an 11-match winning streak at ATP 500 events – including title runs in Beijing and Vienna last year – into his match with 53rd-ranked Alexei Popyrin of Australia. While the two split their two previous matches, this time Sinner prevailed 6-3, 7-5 in an hour and 24 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals or better in 19 of the 20 hard-court tournaments he’s played in since the start of the 2024 season.

Sinner hit 24 winners, made only 15 unforced errors, faced no break points and converted break points against Popyrin in each set, which proved to be the difference maker as he improved his 2026 win-loss record to 7-1.

The Italian No. 1 also extended his streak to 50 consecutive wins against players ranked outside the ATP Top 50, which extends back to the summer of 2023.

“I respect every player, but I always try to play my best tennis,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. “The ranking, at the end of the day, is just a number. Everyone is playing [with] high quality. Especially when the opponents don’t have much to lose, you always have to stay very focused.”

Next, Sinner will face No. 6 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia, who defeated 319th-ranked Zhang Zhizhen of China, 6-3, 6-2, in 66 minutes. Mensik, who faced no break points on his serve, outpointed Zhang, who was playing in Doha this week with a protecting ranking, 62-42.

• Reigning Doha champion Andrey Rublev of Russia continued defense of his title with a 67-minute straight-set victory over No. 48 Fabian Marozsan of Hungary, 6-2, 6-4. Rublev became the fifth player in tournament history to reach seven quarterfinals in Qatar. 

Rublev dropped only three first-serve points and faced no break points from Marozsan. He broke his Hungarian opponent three times in five tries and outpointed him 62-43 to advance against Tsitsipas.

Around the Khalifa Tennis Complex

• No. 8 seed Jiri Lehecka of Czechia converted four of four break-point opportunities and rolled over No. 44 Zizou Bergs of Belgium, 6-2, 6-1, in 69 minutes, to advance to the quarterfinal round against No. 40 Arthur Fils of France, who was a 6-1, 7-6 (7) winner over 72nd-ranked French lucky loser Quentin Halys.

• In doubles, No. 1 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain advanced to the semifinals while No. 2 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia were upset by Rotterdam champions Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy in a quarterfinal tussle decided by a match tie-break. Also advancing to the semifinals were No. 3 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain, French qualifiers Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Wednesday’s Doha results

Thursday’s Doha order of play

By the numbers 

Roger Federer is the all-time tournament leader in reaching eight Doha quarterfinals (2003, 2005-06, 2009-12, 2021). Andrey Rublev has now reached seven quarterfinals in Doha (2018, 2020-21, 2023-26), which ties him for second place all-time.

“Quotable …”

“I’m just trying to make the most out of my game. I do have weapons. 
I just need to keep working on them and building on them. I think with discipline and confidence, if those two blend in well together, I think there are a lot of good things that can happen.”

– Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, during his on-court interview following his upset win over World No. 11 Daniil Medvedev of Russia to reach his first quarterfinal-round match in 10 months.

 

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