Doha, Feb 18 (IANS) In his first outing since becoming the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz battled past Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 7-6 (5) in Qatar Open.

The 22-year-old saved two set points on serve in a tense second set before prevailing in the tie-break to secure his 150th tour-level hard-court win and extending his flawless start to the 2026 season to 8-0, ATP reports.

“It was really difficult. 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,” Alcaraz said.

Alcaraz is aiming to improve on last year’s debut result in Doha, where he fell to Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals. The No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings will next meet Frenchman Valentin Royer.

Alcaraz can only meet second seed Sinner in the championship match, which would be the 17th chapter of their thrilling rivalry.

Before that, the Spaniard could face a quarter-final showdown with Karen Khachanov.

The 2024 winner Khachanov battled past lucky loser Shintaro Mochizuki 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. The seventh-seeded Khachanov meets Marton Fucsovics in the second round.

Defending champion Andrey Rublev later shook off a sluggish start before powering to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jesper de Jong in his opening match. The fifth seed, who also lifted the Doha trophy in 2020 when it was an ATP 250, will next meet Fabian Marozsan, who dispatched Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-1.

Stefanos Tsitsipas ignited his Doha campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Tunisian wild card Moez Echargui, booking a popcorn second-round clash with 2023 winner and longtime rival Daniil Medvedev.

Tsitsipas trails 4-10 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, though they have not met since Shanghai in 2024.

–IANS

bc/