Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are still likely to face each other in the Qatar Open championship match, having each secured victories in straight sets during Wednesday’s play.
The second-ranked player, Sinner, triumphed over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin with scores of 6-3, 7-5, thereby advancing him to the quarter-final stage in Doha; subsequently, Alcaraz secured a win of 6-2, 7-5 against France’s Valentin Royer.
These two competitors faced off in six championship matches during the previous year, with a trio of those encounters occurring at major tournaments, where the top-ranked player, Alcaraz, emerged victorious in both the French and US Opens.
The Spanish player, aged 22, is scheduled to compete against Karen Khachanov, following his victory over Marton Fucsovics with scores of 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Jakub Mensik, the sixth seed, easily defeated Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-2, thus arranging a quarter-final confrontation with Sinner, who has successfully advanced to at least the quarter-final stage in 28 out of his most recent 30 competitions, a streak commencing from the 2023 ATP Finals held in Turin.
The Italian player, aged 24, a champion of last year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, has now accumulated victories in 22 of his most recent 23 encounters. His sole loss occurred when facing Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals the previous month.
Concurrently, Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece caused an upset by defeating the eleventh-ranked player globally, Daniil Medvedev, 6-3, 6-4 in Doha, securing a match against the fifth seed, Andrey Rublev, following his win over Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-4.
The quarter-final roster is finalized by the unseeded French player Arthur Fils and the eighth-seeded Czech, Jiri Lehecka, who likewise secured straightforward wins.
