Carlos Alcaraz Admits Having Jannik Sinner in Draw Motivates Him to Bring His ‘Best Level’

First seed Carlos Alcaraz and second seed Jannik Sinner will only face each other if they both reach the final of the Qatar Open.

Carlos Alcaraz Admits Having Jannik Sinner in Draw Motivates Him to Bring His ‘Best Level’

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

In Short
  • Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are both competing in the Qatar Open and have reached the second round.
  • Alcaraz expressed that Sinner's presence motivates him to perform at his best and aims for a potential final matchup.
  • Alcaraz achieved his 150th win on hardcourts with a victory over Arthur Rinderknech, improving his 2026 record to 8-0.

Both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are playing the Qatar Open and have reached the second round. The Italian ace, who skipped the ATP 500 event last year due to his three-month doping ban, knocked out Tomas Machac to set up his next match against Alexei Popyrin.

Alcaraz first improved his head-to-head record over Arthur Rinderknech to 5-0 and then scheduled his second-round match against Valentin Royer. After knocking out Rinderknech, the seven-time Grand Slam champion talked about how Sinner’s presence in the same tournament he is playing motivates him to produce his best tennis.

I think having Jannik in the draw is always good. You always want to keep up. Hopefully, we can reach a final. Those are the moments you work for, to reach the later rounds, whoever it is. But obviously, I’m not going to lie: when Jannik is in the draw, you feel it’s much more likely that I’ll reach the later rounds, and that motivates me to play my best, to take it one day at a time and try to see my name in that final. And I hope I can play against him, because those are the matches that really make me improve.

Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference

Sinner and Alcaraz have so far met 16 times, with the latter winning 10 of those fixtures. They last faced each other in the title clash of last year’s ATP Finals, which Sinner won and defended his crown.

Last year, they clashed for the first time in a Grand Slam final, at the French Open, and went on to meet in the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open as well. Alcaraz leads 2-1 in the head-to-head record in Major finals.

The Qatar Open is their first tournament since their run at the Australian Open. Sinner, who was chasing his third consecutive title, succumbed to a five-set defeat in the semifinals against 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz beat the Serb in the final to win his career’s first title at Melbourne Park, becoming the youngest man in the Open Era to win seven titles as well as complete the Career Grand Slam.

Sinner is chasing his eighth ATP 500 title, last winning a tournament of this level at the 2025 Vienna Open by defeating Alexander Zverev. He has so far played nine ATP 500 finals.

Carlos Alcaraz clinched his 150th win on hardcourts

The 6-4, 7-6(5) triumph over Arthur Rinderknech was Carlos Alcaraz‘s career’s 150th win on hardcourts. En route to improving his win-loss record in 2026 to a perfect 8-0 in an hour and 47 minutes, the Spaniard saved two set points.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (via Queen’s Club)

It’s true that I’ve played on clay my whole life and had hardly ever set foot on hard courts. Seeing how the circuit is, with most tournaments on hard courts and the most important ones also played there, I had to adapt and train more on hard courts. In the preseason, I started training earlier and on hard courts.

Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference

Alcaraz, who is playing in Doha for the second time in his career, will be hoping to improve on last year’s result. He lost to Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals last year.

The last ATP 500 title that the 22-year-old won was the 2025 Japan Open against Taylor Fritz. Alcaraz has so far played 11 ATP 500 finals, winning eight titles. Last year, he played four finals at this level, losing the Barcelona Open and winning the Rotterdam Open, Japan Open, and the Queen’s Club Championships.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz Reacts to Potential Clash with Jannik Sinner in the Final of the Qatar Open