DOHA: Second seed Jannik Sinner made a winning return to competition on Monday, sweeping aside Czech Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
Playing his first match since losing a gripping Australian Open semifinal late last month, Sinner showed few signs of rust in Doha, never facing a break point and committing just nine unforced errors.
The Italian had arrived in Australia as a two-time defending champion before his run ended in a five-set defeat to Novak Djokovic in Melbourne, but he encountered little resistance from Machac in a dominant opening display.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, the 2023 Doha champion, advanced with a routine 6-4, 6-2 win over China’s Juncheng Shang.
Sixth seed Jakub Mensik recovered from a first-set loss to defeat British qualifier Jan Choinski 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4. Australia’s Alexei Popyrin and Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Valentin Royer also moved into the next round.
