ATP Tour

Sinner holds off Popyrin to push ATP 500 streak into Doha QFs

Jannik Sinner’s debut run at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open gathered pace on Wednesday when the Italian secured a composed 6-3, 7-5 victory over Alexei Popyrin.

The second seed had to work hard during his 85-minute triumph, but absorbed a barrage of big serves and blistering winners to reach the quarter-finals at the Qatari ATP 500. Sinner also extended his streak to 50 consecutive wins against players outside the Top 50 in the PIF ATP Rankings — a run stretching back to his loss to Dusan Lajovic in Cincinnati in 2023.

Sinner's Doha debut drives 🔛

Make that 12 ATP 500 wins in a row for @janniksin @QatarTennis | #QatarExxonMobilOpen pic.twitter.com/fB9qeT0iUI

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2026

“I respect every player, but I always try to play my best tennis,” Sinner said when told of his streak against Top 50 players. “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.”

Popyrin, who claimed his first tour-level victory since the US Open in August by defeating wild card Mubarak Shannan Zayid in the opening round, showed no signs of a man lacking confidence. Although he fired 16 total winners and thrilled the crowd in a tightly contested set, Sinner kept his composure to advance on debut in Doha.

“I feel like I started off very well in the first set, not so many problems with my service games,” said Sinner, who did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats. “But after I struggled a bit. I felt like he raised his level and I lost a bit of rhythm and confidence. I just tried to dig deep… I’m very happy. You have to find different ways to win matches.”

Sinner is competing in his first tournament since his painful five-set semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and is targeting a third straight ATP 500 title after lifting trophies in Beijing and Vienna in October. A championship-match clash against World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is a possibility, which will be the 17th chapter of their rapidly developing rivalry.

Before then, however, the Italian must negotiate a last-eight meeting with sixth seed and 2024 finalist Jakub Mensik, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Zhang Zhizhen. The 20-year-old continues his upward surge after winning the Brisbane title in January, climbing three spots to No. 13 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings — surpassing his previous career high of No. 16.

Elsewhere in Sinner’s section of the draw are Jiri Lehecka and Arthur Fils, who both advanced on Wednesday to set a quarter-final meeting in Doha. Lehecka, who last year beat Alcaraz en route to the semi-finals, eased past Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-1, while Fils prevailed 6-1, 7-6(7) over countryman Quentin Halys.

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Fils has recently begun working with 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, the former coach of the likes of Marin Cilic, Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Competing in just his third event since returning from an eight-month back injury, Fils is currently tied 1-1 with Jiri Lehecka in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.