Carlos Alcaraz is into the second round in Doha as he scored his 150th hard court win after a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over Arthur Rinderknech.
The Australian Open champion returned to the court for the first time since completing his career Grand Slam in Melbourne.
After a fairly comfortable opening set, Alcaraz was tested against the Frenchman but the Spaniard eventually secured the second set tiebreak to secure victory in Qatar.
The win was his 150th of his career on a hard court as he continued to extend his legacy in the sport.
After the match Alcaraz admitted it was a difficult contest but is happy to get through to the second round, “It was really difficult,” Alcaraz told the ATP website.
“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 will now play another Frenchman in the form of Valentin Royer in the second round.
In other results, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Moez Echargui 6-4 6-4 to set up a second round meeting with Daniil Medvedev.
There were also wins for Karen Khachanov and Jiri Lehecka while defending champion Andrey Rublev takes on Jesper De Jong later on.
