Tennis News

Tien rallies to shock defending champ in Delray Beach: 'I just kept believing'

Learner Tien was not ready for his Delray Beach Open to come to an end.

The 20-year-old was two points from defeat against defending champion Miomir Kecmanovic — who served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set — but rallied for a 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) victory and a place in the quarter-finals.

“I just kept believing,” Tien said in his on-court interview. “I got broken on kind of a bad game at four all, but just tried to put that behind me as best I could, and just made him beat me.”

Kecmanovic showed no signs of nerves when he served for the match, hammering away from the baseline and putting consistent pressure on the home favourite. But Tien played great defence, turning into a brick wall at the most critical moment.

Once the reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion retrieved the break, he was able to surge to the finish line and take a 2-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I got a little lucky. I think luck always plays a little bit of a role,” Tien said. “But I think just fighting, just staying in there every point, and really making him close me out, I think [that] just paid off.”

Tien is fresh off a run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, where he beat a former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Daniil Medvedev, and pushed Alexander Zverev to a fourth-set tie-break. The lefty will next take on Frances Tiafoe, who won the first ATP Tour title of his career in Delray Beach in 2018.

“I played him in the first round of the [US] Open a few years ago. Obviously he’s a totally different player,” Tiafoe said. “I’m excited to get up and play him. It’s funny how things turn. Now I’m the underdog in that match, so I’m happy to get out there and play against him.”

The eighth-seeded Tiafoe clawed past qualifier Zachary Svajda 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to reach his first quarter-final since July of last year.

“I’m just happy to be competing. It feels good competing,” Tiafoe said. “It’s nice to put some matches together. Happy I get to play another match tomorrow. It’s going to be another tough opponent, so excited to get out there and compete.”

Top seed Taylor Fritz also battled through a tough test, eliminating #NextGenATP Spaniard Rafael Jodar 7-6(4), 6-4 in the last match of the day. The home favourite hit 15 aces and saved two of the three break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Fritz has shown good form since returning to the United States, advancing to the Dallas semi-finals last week. The 2023 and 2024 Delray Beach champion will continue his title chase against close friend Tommy Paul, a 7-6(11), 6-3 winner against lucky loser Adam Walton.

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Buse upsets Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro

Ignacio Buse spoiled Joao Fonseca’s pursuit of home glory at the Rio Open presented by Claro on Thursday when he upset the Brazilian 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.

Despite losing the first set in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Buse eventually capitalised on Fonseca’s 43 unforced errors to triumph in a two-hour, 26-minute battle. With the victory, he became the first Peruvian to reach an ATP 500 quarter-final since the series was introduced in 2009.

“Today was a really difficult match,” Buse said. “We all know the potential that Joao has. We are really close friends. So that was also hard today.”

One year ago, Buse was No. 230 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Now the 21-year-old is at a career-high No. 91 and on the rise.

“I tried to deal with the pressure the best that I can,” Buse said. “I did it well today. And next time if I do it bad, I will learn and try to do it better.”

In a match delayed by an hour due to rain, Buse kept his composure under pressure. He crucially saved eight of the nine break points he faced, including three in the opening game of the second set and three at 4-3 in the third set, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The Peruvian fired his eighth ace to complete the upset and advance to the biggest quarter-final of his career, in which he will face Matteo Berrettini.

Berrettini also earned a hard-fought three-set win in the second round, defeating Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and nine minutes. With the win, the Italian reached his first tour-level quarter-final on clay since claiming his last title in Kitzbuhel in 2024.

In other action, eighth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry advanced to the last eight with a 7-6(1), 6-4 win over Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas, who was aiming to reach his first tour-level quarter-final.

Etcheverry was forced to navigate late drama in the second set when he missed a match point on Gaubas’ serve while leading 5-2. The Argentine then stepped up to serve for the match, but rain suspended play before he could seal the win. Upon returning to the court, he was broken, but immediately responded by breaking Gaubas back to triumph.

With his two-hour, seven-minute victory, the Argentine is up to No. 44 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, securing a return to the Top 50 for the first time since April last year. Etcheverry will next meet lucky loser Jaime Faria.

The Portuguese player, who defeated two-time defending champion Sebastian Baez in the first round for the biggest win of career, beat Damir Dzumhur 7-6(1), 6-4 in two hours and three minutes to reach the quarter-finals.

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Putting Sinner's Doha defeat in perspective: The numbers behind his consistency

Losses have been rare for Jannik Sinner in recent years. That is why when the Italian does fall short, it grabs plenty of people’s attention.

Jakub Mensik, last year’s Miami champion, upset the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 Thursday in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-finals. This was straight off the back of a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

It had been a year and a half since Sinner lost before the final at two consecutive tournaments. It last happened in 2024 at Wimbledon and at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal (both quarter-finals).

Sinner is now 138-14 since the start of the 2024 season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, giving him an astonishing 90.8 winning percentage during that period. For context, Novak Djokovic owns the best tour-level winning percentage on record at 83.3 per cent.

Since Sinner lost in the Montreal quarter-finals in 2024, he has played 19 tournaments and made the final in 15 of them, lifting 10 trophies. His five championship-match defeats came against Carlos Alcaraz.

So while Sinner has now lost in consecutive events before the final, that speaks to his consistency in recent years. Mensik will play Arthur Fils Friday for a place in the Doha final.

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2026 Acapulco tennis prize money

The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco, Mexico, which this year runs from 23-28 February, has announced a prize money total of $2,469,450 for the 2026 edition.

The singles champion will earn $461,835. The winning doubles team will split $151,690.

View the full prize-money breakdown and the PIF ATP Rankings points at stake below.

2026 Acapulco Singles Prize Money

2026 Acapulco Doubles Prize Money (per team)

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2026 Dubai tennis prize money

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, UAE, which this year runs from 23-28 February, has announced a prize money total of $3,311,005 for the 2026 edition.

The singles champion will earn $619,160. The winning doubles team will split $203,390.

View the full prize-money breakdown and the PIF ATP Rankings points at stake below.

2026 Dubai Singles Prize Money

2026 Dubai Doubles Prize Money (per team)

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Medvedev & Tien headline star-studded Indian Wells doubles field

There will be plenty of elite singles firepower in the doubles draw at next month’s BNP Paribas Open, with teams accepted into the draw including Daniil Medvedev and Learner Tien, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sebastian Korda, and Alex de Minaur and John Peers.

Medvedev and Tien is an eye-catching duo, given their budding Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry (Tien leads 3-1). The American shed light on their partnership Thursday at the Delray Beach Open.

“I think his coach texted my coach last minute, maybe the day before the deadline. I said, ‘Sure’, I thought it would be fun and so I’m looking forward to it,” Tien said. “It was kind of random, because I don’t think he plays that much doubles and neither do I, so I think we’ll just go out and have fun.”

Six of the Top 10 players in the PIF ATP Rankings have entered the doubles field at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner and the big-serving American Reilly Opelka are currently alternates, and will need a wild card to enter the draw because their combined ranking of 71 was not high enough to make the cut.

Sinner holds a 26-25 tour-level doubles record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 24-year-old Italian lifted his only ATP Tour doubles trophy so far with Opelka in Atlanta in 2021.

Alexander Zverev and good friend Marcelo Melo, his regular doubles partner, are also alternates. The pair reached a Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo in 2024. Ben Shelton and fellow American Emilio Nava will also require a wild card.  

Regular doubles pairings that will headline the field in Indian Wells include Australian Open champions Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool and defending champions Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic. 

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Play in Rio de Janeiro resumes following rain delay

Thursday’s Play has resumed at the Rio Open presented by Claro after a second rain delay.

Following about an hour-long wait, Joao Fonseca will play Ignacio Buse on Quadra Guga Kuerten, with Matteo Berrettini vs. Dusan Lajovic to follow.

The first delay happened for approximately 45 minutes when Tomas Martin Etcheverry was three points from victory against Vilius Gaubas at 7-6(1), 5-3 15/15. The Argentine returned to seal a 7-6(1), 6-4 win.

In early action on Thursday, lucky loser Jaime Faria defeated Damir Dzumhur 7-6(1), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals

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Mensik upsets Sinner to reach Qatar semi-finals

Jakub Mensik prevents Jannik Sinner from reaching another final as he knocks the world number two out of the Qatar Open quarter-finals, while Carlos Alcaraz reaches semis.

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Mensik stuns Sinner in Doha for biggest win of his career

Jakub Mensik has pedigree when it comes to causing upsets at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Yet the 20-year-old hit new heights at the ATP 500 on Thursday, when he stunned World No. 2 Jannik Sinner with a classy quarter-final performance.

Mensik upset Sinner 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 for the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Ranking. Two years ago, the Czech notched his maiden Top 5 victory against Andrey Rublev during his breakout run to the championship match in Doha. On Thursday night, he produced a nerveless deciding set to prevail in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Sinner and book a semi-final meeting with Arthur Fils.

Worthy of a salute 🫡

2024 finalist @mensik_jakub_ posts his first ever Top 3 triumph @QatarTennis | #QatarExxonMobilOpen pic.twitter.com/ZW36RRgFT9

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19, 2026

“I don’t know, to be honest,” said Mensik, when asked how he had closed out his win. “Before the match I knew about Jannik’s quality. A great guy, a great champion. Already what he has done in his young career, it’s pretty impressive, so I knew it was going to be a tough one. But even with that thought, I came to the match to win it, and actually having a winning mindset.

“I served pretty good, even if the conditions were starting to get slower during the night. It was a very tough mental battle. After the second set, when I dropped my energy a little bit, I’m really happy that I came back after the toilet break and from the beginning of the third set, I just started to serve well again. I’m just happy with the performance I showed today.”

Mensik produced a relentless serving performance to sink Sinner. He won 82 per cent (49/60) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and he recovered impressively in the third set after a mid-match drop in his level.

The Czech dug himself out of an early hole in the quarter-final clash by escaping 0/40 and saving four break points overall to hold serve in the third game. With his serve starting to fire, Mensik did not face another break point in the set and won five of the final seven points in the tie-break, clinching the set with a powerful forehand that left Sinner helpless.

Sinner’s reaction to dropping the first set of his debut Doha campaign was emphatic. He quickly levelled the match, reeling off four consecutive games from 2-2, albeit with the help of Mensik. The Czech could not maintain his first-set level from the line and produced three double faults, including two en route to being broken in the sixth game.

Yet there was nothing Sinner could do about Mensik’s big finish. Continuing to go for his shots whenever he had the chance to dictate, the sixth seed broke serve in the opening and closing games of the deciding set to complete a famous two-hour, 12-minute triumph. The Czech, who is chasing his second ATP Tour title of 2026 after winning Auckland in the first week of the year, coolly walked to the net to embrace Sinner after completing the job.

The 2025 Miami champion Mensik is now 4-2 against Top 5 opponents, a tally that includes victories against ATP No. 1 Club members Novak Djokovic and Sinner, and he is up three spots to No. 13 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his exploits in Doha so far. He will bid to reach the final in the Qatari capital for the second time on Friday, when he faces the 21-year-old Fils.

Having made his return to action earlier this month after playing just two matches in the preceding eight months due to a back injury, Frenchman Fils earned his first tour-level semi-final appearance since last April by overcoming Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3.

“I didn’t know that I was going to play that good that fast, for sure,” said Fils in his post-match press conference. “You don’t know what to expect when you are back from injury since, what, six to eight months. So you don’t really know what to expect.

“[I’m] pretty happy with the way I’m playing now. It’s not my best tennis yet so far, but we’re getting there. I just need to fight every match to play a lot of balls, to play a lot of games, sets, points, to get again ready, and getting better and better.”

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Alcaraz rallies past Khachanov in Doha, hits perfect 10 for 2026

Carlos Alcaraz prevailed in a Doha tussle on Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open to preserve his perfect start to 2026.

The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings overcame Karen Khachanov 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3 to seal his semi-final spot at the hard-court ATP 500. With both players striking the ball with relentless power from the baseline, Alcaraz held his nerve at key moments to forge a comeback victory and set a last-four meeting with defending champion Andrey Rublev.

👉👂 Carlos’ captivating comeback 👉👂@QatarTennis | #QatarExxonMobilOpen | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/o8DheMoUfr

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 19, 2026

“It was a really close and tight match,” said Alcaraz after improving to 6-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Khachanov. “In the first set I had a few break points and I couldn’t make them. One set point and I couldn’t make it, so it was really tough.

“I think Karen was playing great, but I knew I’d had my chances. I just didn’t take them in the first set, so it was the time to keep going and try to keep fighting. Wait for my chances and try to take them in the second set. I’m just really proud about the way that I [fought].”

Having backed his Australian Open title run by reaching his maiden Doha semi-final, Alcaraz has improved to 10-0 for the season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 22-year-old is now 12-0 in tour-level quarter-finals since his defeat to Jiri Lehecka in Doha a year ago.

Both Alcaraz and Khachanov let slip three break points during a rollicking opening set that featured several stunning all-court exchanges. It was Khachanov, after saving a set point at 4-5, 40/Ad, who raised his level in commanding fashion to prevail. One of the highlights of the set was the seventh seed’s remarkable forehand dig to move 4/0 clear in the tie-break, and he closed it out to win just his second set across his six tour-level meetings with Alcaraz.

Serve dominated the early stages of the second set as the match lulled somewhat after the relentless intensity of the opening set. Alcaraz was ready to take his chance when it came, however: After Khachanov pushed a makeable forehand volley long to hand Alcaraz two break points, he closed out for a break of serve that he rode all the way to the second set.

With the momentum in his favour, Alcaraz picked out a rasping crosscourt forehand pass to break again in the fifth game of the decider, and the Spaniard ultimately won five of the final six games to wrap a two-hour, 27-minute victory in which he did not faced a break point after the opening set.

Earlier on Thursday, Rublev extended his winning streak in Doha to eight matches with a 6-3, 7-6(2) triumph against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The World No. 14, the champion in the Qatari capital in both 2020 and 2025, saved all five break points he faced against Tstisipas in their first meeting since the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. With his 96-minute win, Rublev levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 6-6.

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