We’re out of the February grind and we’ve arrived at the Sunshine Double. With Indian Wells still underway and Miami coming up next, March is a completely different month – only two Masters 1000 events are on the schedule. In February, the ATP Tour offered four 250s and six 500s in four weeks in addition to the Davis Cup tournament.
It was February on and off the court, which ended with several players being temporarily stranded in Dubai amid the Middle East war. Let’s review the month with five takes.
1. Daniil Medvedev is back…maybe. Sadly, one of the strangest tennis records has come to an end. Medvedev had won 22 ATP titles during his career – all of them unique. That’s right; he never won the same tournament twice. That ended when the 29-year-old Russian won in Dubai for the second time in his career. Yes, it doesn’t really hurt. Quite the contrary, with Medvedev back in form he is very good in the game. Having already won two events this season (including Brisbane), it is clear that the former world number 1 is once again one of the best players in the world. Now he has to prove himself at the Grand Slam after winning a total of one slam match in 2025 before losing to Learner Tien in the fourth round of the recent Australian Open.
2. Can Sebastian Korda’s qualities outweigh his flaws in the long run? Korda makes tennis look easy. His hitting is good and his form – especially on the backhand side – is very good. There were times during his run to the Delray Beach title when I was laughing between points at the level of tennis he was producing. Doubts about Korda’s talent persist. The question is whether he can put his past mistakes behind him. That, of course, is the ability to stay healthy and the mental game moving in stressful times. Fortunately, there was no defect in Delray. But will Korda be able to prioritize them when he plays in the biggest physically and mentally demanding stages?
3. Felix Auger-Aliassime is world number 3 indoors. There are no Grand Slams on indoor hard courts, which means you don’t need to factor Novak Djokovic into the equation. As such, I’ll take Auger-Aliassime in the house over anyone else on the tour besides Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The ninth-ranked Canadian has won nine ATP titles, eight of which have come on indoor hard courts. Six of his last 10 attempts have gone into the house. The 25-year-old won in Montpellier to start the February round and then finished second in Rotterdam to Alex de Minaur. He was also second to Sinner last fall in Paris, when you had to think Auger-Aliassime’s first Masters 1000 title would come.
4. Consistency is now the key for Jakub Mensik and Flavio Cobolli. Mensik famously upset Novak Djokovic in the finals in Miami 2025 and in Doha he stunned Sinner in the quarterfinals. With some of the biggest resources and best hands on the tour, Mensik is a top-10 and arguably top-five talent. However, he did nothing last season following his Miami championship. The story is the same with Cobolli. The Italian doesn’t have the same firepower or upside as Mensik, but the 500-point title in Acapulco proved once again that he wields one of the most ferocious forwards in the sport. Cobolli can’t really have a four game losing streak with three losses coming to opponents ranked outside the top 100. That was the skid Cobolli was on before arriving at Delray Beach, where he reached the semis to prepare himself for his Acapulco run a week later.
5. No need to panic about Jannik Sinner. Sosoni is already at a stage in his career where nothing really matters other than the Grand Slams and the lesser Masters 1000s. As such, a quarterfinal loss in the 500 is hardly shocking – especially against a dangerous opponent like Mensik. Of particular concern was Sinner’s loss to Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Aussie Open. Still, there’s no reason to write off Sinner from Sunshine Double. I expect the Italian to win Indian Wells or Miami and the French Open or Wimbledon – separating each pair with you know who.
