Sebastian Korda reached his first tour-level final since January 2025 with a composed performance at the Delray Beach Open, defeating Flavio Cobolli 7-6 (1), 6-1 in 77 minutes. The 25-year-old advanced to championship Sunday after producing a strong second set and closing out the match in just over an hour and a quarter.

The on-court ceremony produced an unexpected moment when emcee Michelle Yu stumbled over a question about Korda’s head-to-head record versus Cobolli. Yu said, “You’ve played Flavio three times and you’ve had sex—success all three times. Why is it….” Korda smiled and answered the improvised prompt with candor: “He’s a good looking guy, so you know…”

The exchange lightened the atmosphere after a week in which Korda regained form. Ahead of his runner-up finish at an ATP Challenger Tour event in San Diego, he expressed, “I think especially with how many times I’ve been injured, you kind of lose that competitiveness when you’re not really inside of a tournament. I think that’s something that I’m lacking sometimes.”

That awareness appears to have paid dividends this season. Korda has compiled six tour-level wins since the start of his resurgence, building on a Dallas Open quarterfinal showing and adding a pair of Top 20 victories during the Delray Beach run. He ousted Casper Ruud before closing the week with his win over Cobolli.

The result moves Korda back into the spotlight and provides momentum as he seeks to convert his return to form into a title. Off-court levity and on-court progress combined to make Delray Beach a notable stop in his recovery from recurring injury setbacks and a step toward reestablishing the competitiveness he described.

Carlos Alcaraz added another emphatic victory to his early career resume with a one-sided final at the ATP 500 event in Doha, Qatar. The 22-year-old world No. 1 needed just 50 minutes to dispatch Arthur Fils, winning 6-2, 6-1 to claim the title.

The result moves Alcaraz to 26 career tour-level trophies. His performance in Doha was brisk and decisive, leaving little room for resistance from his opponent. The straight-sets scoreline and the brief duration of the match underline how thoroughly Alcaraz controlled the final.

Qatar becomes the latest country on a growing list where Alcaraz has won tour-level events. At 22, he has already secured titles in 14 different countries, a clear sign of his consistency across surfaces and locations. The Doha victory reinforces his standing at the top of the rankings and adds another significant result early in the season.

Arthur Fils reached the final but could not find an answer to Alcaraz on the day. The outcome highlighted the gap between the champion’s aggressive, efficient game and his opponent’s limited opportunities against the world No. 1.

For Alcaraz, the title in Doha represents both another trophy and another milestone in a rapidly building career. The 26th tour-level win and the expansion of his list of countries with titles are tangible measures of the progress he has made since breaking through on the professional circuit. The ATP 500 crown in Doha will be entered alongside his other tour-level achievements as he continues through the 2026 season.

Learner Tien has become a player opponents find hard to close out at the Delray Beach Open. After surviving a scare in the round of 16 when Miomir Kecmanovic stood two points from victory, Tien edged the defending champion in a final-set tiebreaker to advance.

Twenty-four hours later the 20-year-old left-hander delivered another late flourish, beating Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5. The fourth seed produced a sequence of timely defenses and late pressure that turned the match in his favor.

Tien credited a personal observation in the stands for extra motivation during the decisive moments. “I saw my mom sitting up there when I was down 4-5 and I know if I lost, she was going to leave tomorrow,” he shared. “I was kinda thinking that early in the match, at like 2-3 in the third maybe. But it really hit home when it was 4-5 and I could kind of see the end.”

The match featured several momentum swings. Tien saved a pair of set points on Tiafoe’s serve in the 10th game of the opening set and regrouped after Tiafoe produced a re-break for 6-5. In the third set he saved three break points to avoid falling further behind and then shifted the match with a decisive run.

Tien closed the match with a four-game streak that decided the outcome, winning 16 of the final 18 points and finishing by breaking Tiafoe at love. That run sent him into his first semifinal of the season.

Reflecting on his mindset when trailing early in the decider, Tien added: “I got down an early break, wasn’t looking too great. I prayed. I said, ‘God I trust your plan for this match.’ I just went out and competed,” he said.