Middle East is Swinging - Qatar Open + Dubai Open

Welcome to The Service Game , where serves start the story. In this week’s First Serve, the tour is fully in its Middle East Swing with plenty of drama from both sides: Arthur Fils and Jakub Mensik’s thrilling prospects, another tournament without a Sincaraz final, and Jessica Pegula getting her 10th title! From exciting comebacks to dramatic statements from tournament directors, the Middle East swing has delivered in a way that the Australian Open has failed to do!— listen for the full breakdown and what it all means moving forward. Matches/Links mentioned: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Karen Khachanov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puszgo5ytDs Jannik Sinner vs. Jakub Mensik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1KK607fkJE Arthur Fils vs. Jakub Mensik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKojS6wA-Xg&t=361s Arthur Fils vs. Carlos Alcaraz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9j7djGFMs Alex Eala vs. Jasmine Paolini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUCpH8JRkg4 Elina Svitolina vs. Coco Gauff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od6QcyTfpt8 Jessica Pegula vs. Amanda Anisimova: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7tpXYiUH9c Elina Svitolina vs. Jessica Pegula: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8N7tGMhsQA Subscribe to ⁠ The Service Game ⁠ on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. For extended analysis and written Second Serve content, check out Ivy’s ⁠Substack⁠ . 🎾 Thanks for listening—and let the serves begin! Produced with assistance from Radio CKUT CKUT Radio: https://ckut.ca/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theservicegame.substack.com