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Michelsen denies Vacherot at 'home tournament' Delray Beach

  • Posted: Feb 17, 2026

Alex Michelsen marked his return to the Delray Beach Open with a composed performance Monday, navigating gusty winds and a testing opponent to advance at the ATP 250 hard-court event.

The 21-year-old American defeated sixth seed Valentin Vacherot 7-6(4), 6-4 to earn his second win over a Top 30 opponent this season and reach the second round in Delray Beach for the third straight year. Michelsen, who reached the semi-finals last year, did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats, throughout the one-hour, 28-minute match.

“I live here now. I have an apartment 20 minutes from here, so it’s like my home tournament,” Michelsen said. “It’s great. I’m from California but I emigrated here. I absolutely love it here. Everyone’s so nice.”

After triumphing in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Vacherot, Michelsen can look ahead to a second-round meeting with Sebastian Korda or Mackenzie McDonald.

In other action on Day 1 in Delray Beach, Terence Atmane earned his first ATP Tour victory since October with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Patrick Kypson, while qualifier Coleman Wong upset Nuno Borges 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to advance.

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Sinner springs back to form with assertive Doha debut

  • Posted: Feb 16, 2026

Jannik Sinner began to turn the sting of recent heartbreak into renewed purpose on Monday in Doha, where he thrilled the crowd with a striking debut performance at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

Two weeks after his five-set defeat to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Sinner returned to winning ways with a rock-solid 6-1, 6-4 win over Tomas Machac at the hard-court ATP 500 event in Doha. With his 70-minute victory, the second seed extended his winning streak at this level to 11 matches, having won titles in Beijing and Vienna last October.

“Today was a little bit worse than yesterday,” Sinner said of the windy Doha conditions. “But you have to adapt to every situation and condition on the court. We also played a couple of matches before, so I knew a little [about] what to expect. I felt good on court today. Physically I feel good. Every match is going to get tougher, so hopefully I will be ready for the next one.”

During his ruthlessly efficient first-round performance, Sinner dropped just six points on serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and expertly handled an explosive start to the second set from Machac. After letting slip three match points on return — in the ninth game of the second set, which featured scintillating winners from both men — Sinner sealed the victory with a statement finish behind his own delivery.

With top seed and fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz also in the Doha field, Sinner will look to maintain the pair’s stranglehold whenever they share a draw. Since Andrey Rublev’s triumph in Madrid in May 2024, no player other than Sinner or Alcaraz has captured a tour-level title at an event featuring both of them.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Sinner will next take on Alexei Popyrin, who eased past Qatari wild card Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6-0, 6-2.

Daniil Medvedev bounced back from his first-round defeat in Rotterdam by earning a clinical 6-4, 6-2 win over Shang Juncheng in Doha. The 30-year-old, who triumphed in 2023, is one of three former champions in the draw alongside Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.

Jakub Mensik and Arthur Fils also booked their spots in the second round on Monday in Doha, where they rallied to three-set wins. Sixth seed Mensik overcame qualifier Jan Choinski 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4 and Fils defeated Kamil Majchrzak 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

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Will Alcaraz catch Sinner for weeks as World No. 1?

  • Posted: Feb 16, 2026

The battle for No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings has become a two-man chess match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in recent years, and right now every move could have major implications.

Now having spent 59 total weeks at No. 1, Alcaraz broke his tie with Jim Courier for 13th on the all-time list and is edging closer to Sinner with 66. What was last year Sinner’s era at the summit has quickly evolved into a back-and-forth tussle that feels emblematic of the sport’s present and future.

Total Weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings

 Player  Total Weeks
 1) Novak Djokovic  428
 2) Roger Federer  310
 3) Pete Sampras  286
 4) Ivan Lendl  270
 5) Jimmy Connors  268
 6) Rafael Nadal  209
 7) John McEnroe  170
 8) Bjorn Borg  109
 9) Andre Agassi  101
 10) Lleyton Hewitt  80
 11) Stefan Edberg  72
 12) Jannik Sinner  66
 13) Carlos Alcaraz  59

Just a year ago, Sinner was in the midst of an imperious debut stint at No. 1, becoming the fifth player to spend more than a year at the top in their maiden reign. But Alcaraz has responded in emphatic fashion.

The 22-year-old Spaniard reclaimed top spot with his US Open triumph over Sinner in September and cemented it with his Australian Open title in January, becoming the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam. Alcaraz now holds a 2,850-point lead over Sinner atop the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Both Alcaraz and Sinner headline the ATP 500 field this week at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where Sinner is aiming to make ground in the battle for No. 1 on his Doha debut. The 24-year-old Italian has no points to defend until the clay-court swing in Rome and it’s a stretch that gives him the freedom to attack without immediate pressure.

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Importantly, the immediate period does not present an overwhelming points burden for the Alcaraz. He defends a quarter-final in Doha, a semi-final at Indian Wells and a second-round result in Miami before the calendar shifts to clay, where his bigger hauls begin with the Monte-Carlo title and a runner-up finish in Barcelona.

Beyond the numbers, the rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner has come to define the ATP Tour’s narrative, with the Spaniard leading their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 10-6. The two could reignite their rivalry for the first time since the Nitto ATP Finals in November if they both reach the championship match in Doha this week.

For now, the gap in the battle for No. 1 is Alcaraz’s to protect and Sinner’s to chase. Twelve months ago the picture looked very different. Today, with no one standing between them on the all-time list and both competing deep into the season’s biggest events, the race for No. 1 feels less like a changing of the guard and more like a rivalry destined to define an era.

If Alcaraz maintains his grip atop the PIF ATP Rankings, he could overtake Sinner for weeks at No. 1 as the Tour enters the clay season at the beginning of April, following the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami.

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Fonseca physically ‘100 per cent’ ahead of hometown title tilt in Rio

  • Posted: Feb 16, 2026

Following a stop-start opening to 2026, can Joao Fonseca turbocharge his season in his hometown at the Rio Open presented by Claro?

The No. 38 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will this week line up as the third seed at the clay ATP 500. It will be just the third tournament of the season for the 19-year-old, who did not compete until the Australian Open due to injury but now believes he is primed and ready to make more headlines as one of the leading lights of Brazilian tennis.

“I’m feeling good. Already 100 per cent physically,” Fonseca told ATP Media in Rio ahead of his first-round match against his countryman Thiago Monteiro. “I’ve been struggling in the beginning of the year with my lower back, but now I’m 100 per cent and feeling great back on court. Physically I’m good.”

After opening his 2026 season with a first-round loss to Eliot Spizzirri at the Australian Open, Fonseca immediately headed to South America to prepare for the ‘Golden Swing’. Although he also fell to an opening defeat when defending his title at last week’s IEB+ Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, where he was edged in three sets by former Top 20 star Alejandro Tabilo, Fonseca feels it was another important step on his tennis journey.

“It was a pretty tight match in Buenos Aires, against a very good player,” said the 19-year-old. “I think the opportunity to play a week where you are the defending champion was great. I’m thinking about positive things right 1771301862. It was my first time, and of course a little bit more pressure, but I think I handled it pretty well. I think my opponent played pretty good. Things to work on of course, but I’m feeling confident for this week.”

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Fonseca enters Rio this year with a 13-11 tour-level record on clay, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, having competed in tournaments across both Europe and South America. He was quick to identify a couple of aspects of the ‘Golden Swing’ events that set them apart from their European equivalents.

“I think the most different thing is the weather [in Europe],” explained Fonseca. “It’s hotter and more humid [here], and I think the fans are such a big thing. They pull out a lot of the culture of Argentina and Brazil, perhaps because of football, it’s huge.

“They cheer a lot. Sometimes it’s too much! But I think it’s a great environment and that’s the biggest thing [about South America]. The courts are pretty similar. Buenos Aires is more similar to [the European] ones, and here the ball goes a little bit slower, but it’s also good.”

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Alcaraz isn’t alone: Sinner matches rival's serve focus ahead of Doha…

  • Posted: Feb 16, 2026

Much has been made about the work Carlos Alcaraz has done on his serve. But the Spaniard is not the only one focusing on the vital stroke. Jannik Sinner revealed on Sunday ahead of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open that he is emphasising his serve ahead of his first ATP 500 event of the season.

“Honestly at the moment [we are working] on the usual stuff. Trying to get a very solid serve at the moment, which is what we work a lot on,” Sinner told ATP Media in Doha. “Also a lot in the gym, the gym sessions are very important. I try to make an extra step forward in that scenario and that’s it.”

Sinner is the second seed this week in Doha, where he leads the field alongside the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Alcaraz. The Italian is competing for the first time since he suffered a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open last month, when he made 75 per cent of his first deliveries and won 80 per cent of those points, according to Infosys Stats.

While the loss was a disappointment, the Italian was keen to stress that the work undertaken in the fortnight since has been building on the foundations laid during the team’s pre-season training block in Dubai.

“The season has started. A lot of the work we have done was in the offseason,” Sinner said. “Now of course we try to keep working, but also to maintain the level of fitness, too. I think everything is going quite well. Of course you need to play some matches, trying to have the best feedback.”

That feedback loop, practice intensity translating into match performance, will guide his week in Doha as much as results.

“From my point of view, it also depends how the practice sessions go. If you feel very well there, you want to produce the same intensity also in the match,” Sinner said. “If certain things don’t work well in the practice session, you try to be slightly better than in the practice session. So it depends, but at the same time I’m here trying to go as far as possible. At the same time, trying to improve and then see what’s working well here.”

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Sinner is making his debut at the ATP 500 event in Doha, where he will open against Czech Tomas Machac. The World No. 2, who leads Machac 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, is excited for the week, having enjoyed success in the city in the past.

“Some years ago I won a junior tournament, so it’s a very familiar place,” Sinner said. “Obviously a different level now playing the 500 event here. But I’m very excited and let’s see what’s coming.”

Sinner trails World No. 1 Alcaraz by 2,750 points in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. However, the Italian has no points to defend between now and Rome in May.

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Shelton saves 3 championship points for gripping Dallas final win vs. Fritz

  • Posted: Feb 15, 2026

Ben Shelton brought the thunder when it mattered most on Sunday at the Nexo Dallas Open, where he saved three championship points to defeat Taylor Fritz and capture his first title of the season.

The 23-year-old roared back to earn an explosive 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory for his second ATP 500 trophy, saving all three championship points in a nervy 10th game of the decider. After that pivotal hold, Shelton dropped just three more points en route to winning his fourth ATP Tour title, and first indoors.

In a high-octane matchup between the top two seeds that ebbed and flowed right until the last ball, Shelton showed supreme composure under pressure. He let slip a break lead in the final set and then looked down and out, but showed some gutsy tennis at the dying embers to dish Fritz a painful defeat.

With the one-hour, 51-minute victory, Shelton improved to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fritz.

More to follow…

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