The hard courts have long felt like home for Jannik Sinner – which is exactly why Doha turned heads. In a result few predicted, rising Czech star Jakub Mensik produced the biggest win of his career to knock the world No. 2 out of the Qatar Open quarterfinals.

The 20-year-old delivered a fearless performance to win 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3, firing 11 aces and dominating behind his serve in the decider. Mensik won 14 of 16 first-serve points in the third set and saved five of seven break points, refusing to blink in pressure moments. It marked his fourth career Top-5 victory, and more importantly, the first time since Ben Shelton at the 2023 Shanghai Masters that a player outside the Top 10 defeated Sinner on a hard court.

Coming off a semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, the Italian arrived in Doha seeking rhythm. Instead, he ran into a player swinging freely. “Before the match, I knew about Jannik’s quality. A great guy, a great champion,” Mensik said. “But even with that thought, I came to the match to win it – having a winning mindset.”

Defeats for Sinner have become rare events. Since the start of 2024, the Italian owns a staggering 138-14 record (90.8% win rate) – a level of dominance even higher than the historic percentage held by Djokovic. In 2025 alone, he reached 10 finals, winning both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Across his last 19 tournaments before Doha, he had made the final in 15 and lifted 10 trophies, often battling Carlos Alcaraz for the biggest titles.

That context makes Doha stand out: For the first time in roughly a year and a half, Jannik Sinner has lost before the final in consecutive tournaments. After his Melbourne semifinal loss earlier this season, Sinner admitted the result did “hurt” him, but he also spoke about learning from setbacks and adjusting details in his game.

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“The loss to Novak taught me a lot. I had my chances, and sometimes it does not go as one hopes – it’s sport. We are changing tiny details on the court, and it takes time to make them become regular. There are many things I can improve, but we should not dwell on the Australian Open loss. It was a very good match, though not easy to accept.” What did Sinner say after his recent defeat to Mensik, though?

Jannik Sinner analyzes his shocking defeat to Jakub Mensik

Despite staying out of action for a while due to the doping suspension, Jannik Sinner still managed to finish the 2025 season with six titles, which also includes two Grand Slam triumphs (AO and the French Open). The Italian hoped to carry forward that momentum in 2026 as well, but Sinner has been far from his best in the initial phase of this season.

After a rare loss to Jakub Mensik, the world No. 2 spoke calmly in the mixed zone – disappointment evident, panic absent. Sinner gave full credit to his opponent’s serving, especially early in the match. “In the first set, he served very well – almost 90% first serves in. It was difficult to return, and in the third, I suffered a hard break.” He admitted key errors proved decisive. “I made a couple of too many errors… I’m a little disappointed with how I handled some moments, but it can happen. I started badly in the third set, which was perhaps the key moment.”

The Italian also pointed to small tactical lapses. “Maybe I made two or three wrong choices. I wasn’t very clear. Mensik played an excellent tie-break — maybe I could have played the point at 4-3 better, but it’s easy to talk after the match.” Having said that, Jannik Sinner has now already started to shift his focus to the rest of the tournament this year. His next target will be to do well at Indian Wells.

Although he has reached the SF of the Indian Wells twice (2023, 2024), Sinner has yet to reach the final. However, Jannik Sinner’s biggest goal for the season now is winning the French Open title. He reached the final last year, but he went down to Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner also admitted that he is already experimenting with a few things in his game. And things didn’t work out for him this time, but according to Sinner, these ups and downs are all part of the game.

“Every player faces ups and downs. I’ve had two incredible years, and now I’m having a little downturn, but it’s not something that worries me. I know I can play better tennis, but Jakub played and served really well. We all have ups and downs in our jobs, so I’m not worried…”

Sinner knows how to bounce back from these situations, but do you think he can surpass his last year’s performance in 2026? Share your thoughts with us in the comment box.