Jannik Sinner has opened up on his struggles at the Qatar Open in Doha, where he suffered a shock defeat to Jakub Mensik.
Mensik beat Sinner 7-6(7-3), 2-6, 6-3 in their quarterfinal last month, after the Italian had knocked out Tomas Machac and Alexei Popyrin.
Sinner was the second seed at the ATP 500 tournament, but lost to sixth seed Mensik after two hours and 11 minutes.
The Italian now turns his attention to Indian Wells, ahead of which he analysed what went wrong in his latest defeat.
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Jannik Sinner says he slowed his game too much in Doha
Sinner told Sky Sport Italy: “Maybe in Doha I slowed my game too much, thinking too much about variations.
“Now here we’re trying to push a bit more again, I’m in a good mental state to do good here. I’m really calm, I feel good.”
| Jakub Mensik | Jannik Sinner | |
| 14/20 (70%) | Net points won | 10/14 (71%) |
| 28 | Winners | 21 |
| 17 | Unforced errors | 14 |
| 58/85 (68%) | Service points won | 62/90 (69%) |
| 28/90 (31%) | Return points won | 27/85 (32%) |
| 86/175 (49%) | Total points won | 89/175 (51%) |
Sinner has a tough Indian Wells draw, starting out in the second round against either James Duckworth or Dalibor Svrcina.
He’s the second seed in California, and could face a final against world number one Carlos Alcaraz should he make it that far.
Jannik Sinner’s record at Indian Wells
Sinner certainly hasn’t been at his electric best in the 2026 season so far, which has been dominated by Alcaraz.
The Spaniard boasts a 12-0 record compared to Sinner’s 7-2, which he will be desperate to improve upon at Indian Wells.
The Italian once again falls short of his main rival at Indian Wells, with Sinner having lost back-to-back semifinals against Alcaraz in 2023 and 2024.
That represents his best-ever finish at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, at which he holds an 11-3 record since his debut in 2021.
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Sinner has failed to make it over the line in California, instead winning ATP Masters 1000 titles in Toronto, Miami, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris.
History and recent form strongly suggest Alcaraz will once again edge out his ATP rival, with the Spaniard now chasing his third Indian Wells title.
Alcaraz enters the tournament with a healthy lead over Sinner in the world rankings, with the former on 13,550 and the latter on 10,400.
