Carlos Alcaraz will play Arthur Rinderknech in his first match since his Australian Open triumph.
The Spaniard made history in Melbourne, becoming the youngest man to win all four Grand Slam titles by beating Novak Djokovic in the final.
Alcaraz then pulled out of the Rotterdam Open, where he was the defending champion, before making the trip to Doha for a chance to defend his Qatar Open title.
Looking ahead to the event, Alcaraz commented on a potential matchup with Jannik Sinner. The Italian, seeded second in Doha, hasn’t won a title since lifting the trophy at the 2025 ATP Finals.
Alcaraz speaks about possible Sinner matchup at Qatar Open
In his pre-tournament press conference, Alcaraz was asked about the growing anticipation around a possible final between him and Sinner.
The reporter put it to him like this: “Seems that everybody in every tournament that you and Jannik are playing, that everybody waits for the final. So does this kind of thinking please you, or is more stressful for you?”
Alcaraz responded: “Well, neither. I know how difficult is every match. Every match is such a different, our play is totally different.
“I think this draw is a really tough one for a 500 tournament. We can see the first matches how good matches that we have in the first round.”
He’s not wrong about the strength of the field either. Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov and Jakub Mensik are all involved.
Bublik was due to feature too but pulled out on Monday.
Alcaraz continued: “So just thinking about, you know, a match at a time, and let’s see how far I can go.
“Obviously my mind is trying to go as far as I can. You know if it’s possible to play a final obviously that would be great and that’s what I’m looking for so let’s see.
If Alcaraz gets past Rinderknech on Monday he will meet Valentin Royer who beat Pierre Hugues-Herbert on Sunday.
Carlos Alcaraz shares his thoughts ahead of Arthur Rinderknech clash
Speaking about his upcoming opponent, Alcaraz said: “Well, he’s really tough. I played a few times against him, and it’s always difficult playing against him.
“I’m just excited about playing my first match here this year. And, yeah, just excited about feeling the love from the people and how it’s going to be with them, how warm I’m going to be welcomed. It’s going to be interesting.
“I’m excited to play against him once again.”
The head-to-head record favours Alcaraz, who has beaten Rinderknech four times without defeat on the ATP Tour. Two of those wins came at the US Open and two more at Queen’s Club.
The most recent meeting was during Alcaraz’s 2025 US Open title run, where he won their fourth-round encounter 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
A month later, Rinderknech made headlines by reaching his first Masters 1000 final in Shanghai before falling short against his cousin Valentin Vacherot.
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