After claiming the career grand slam in Melbourne a few weeks ago, Carlos Alcaraz is in no mood to slow down.
The world no.1 earned the 26th title of his young career last week after a demolition job in the Doha final against poor Arthur Fils. After relying on solidity to open proceedings against the error prone Frenchman, Alcaraz then moved through the gears and was unplayable by the end of this brief encounter.
The 22-year-old won 6-2 6-1 in less than an hour and added another 400 points to his lead atop the ATP rankings. Alcaraz is now 12-0 this season and will next have the opportunity to add to his total in Indian Wells.
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner was actually upset in Doha by the uber-powerful Jakub Mensik. The 20-year-old Czech is a streaky player but has already recorded wins over Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper and Casper Ruud.
One player who you wouldn’t describe as streaky is Jessica Pegula. The 31-year-old has been in or around the top five since 2022, but her latest run of form is particularly impressive.
Since her semi-final run at the 2025 US Open, the American has made the last four or better at six consecutive tournaments excluding the Billie Jean King Cup. After that run of semis and finals, Pegula finally added another title to the collection in Dubai.
In the U.A.E, the world no.5 got the better of Elina Svitolina in two sets, 6-2 6-4. The Ukrainian may have suffered from fatigue after consecutive three setters in the round of 16, quarters and semis (where she outlasted Coco Gauff).
Still, Pegula brought plenty of clean hitting and depth to the contest and overwhelmed Svitolina for much of it. That is title no.10 for the American and she will look forward to the trip home for Indian Wells and Miami.
NEWS
- There is a somewhat low-key field in Mérida this week for the WTA 500 with world no.7 Jasmine Paolini the top seed in the draw. There have been a number of withdrawals there after the rigours of Doha and Dubai back-to-back.
- Withdrawals have also been an issue for ATP Dubai organisers with Alcaraz and Sinner moving straight onto the Sunshine Swing after Doha. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik are the only top 10 players in action there this week.
- In hopefully a positive development to stem these issues, Pegula is set to chair a working group that will look at overhauling the bloated calendar on the WTA side. It appears that the addition of more fortnight-long events may not have helped things!
- Last week, Tomas Martin Etcheverry won the ATP 500 in Rio- his first ever tour title - after beating another clay court warrior in Alejandro Tabilo.
- The Williams Sisters have not bid farewell to tennis just yet as Venus has accepted a wildcard into Indian Wells next month. Meanwhile, rumours persist that Serena, now 44, will make a comeback bid in the near future.
- Keep an eye on Stefanos Tsitsipas this week in Dubai. Despite recent struggles on tour, he is defending champion at the event. However, if the Greek loses early and results go against him, Tsitsipas could drop out of the ATP’s top 50.
Photo of the Week
In this section, I dig out an image from my vault of photos taken at various tournaments on tour. You can check out my growing galleries here.
Just over a month ago, Sebastian Korda gave a subdued handshake after falling in the first round of the Australian Open to qualifier Michael Zheng. It was a low point for the talented American, but he’s bounced back well.
Last week in Delray Beach, the 25-year-old impressively captured the third title of his career with a run that included wins over Casper Ruud, Flavio Cobolli and Tommy Paul. While injuries have hampered Korda’s momentum, he has the talent to be in and around the top 10. This could be the first stride back there.
