World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz and second seed Jannik Sinner both reached the Qatar Open quarter-finals with straight-sets victories on Wednesday. Alcaraz, fresh off his Australian Open triumph, defeated Valentin Royer 6-2, 7-5 in his first tournament since completing the career Grand Slam. The Spaniard weathered a second-set fightback to extend his outdoor hard-court winning streak to 27 matches.

Alcaraz acknowledged the challenge, telling Sky Sports Tennis he had to prepare for everything and avoid thinking about a potential third set. The 22-year-old will face Karen Khachanov in the last eight after the Russian overcame Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Alcaraz noted his focus remains on reaching finals rather than counting quarter-final appearances, now at 55 in his career.

Sinner made quick work of Alexei Popyrin, winning 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 25 minutes. The Italian will face Jakub Mensik of Czechia in the quarter-finals. Both top seeds continue their strong form on the ATP Tour as the Qatar Open progresses through the knockout stages.