Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the Six Kings Slam final to claim the dizzying £4.6million prize. In a thrilling showdown between the world’s two best players, it was the Italian who finally got his first win over his arch-rival in four attempts this year.
Six of men’s tennis’ biggest names arrived in Saudi Arabia to participate in the sport’s most lucrative tournament ever. Although only an exhibition competition in which no ranking points can be won, there were huge sums of money on offer for Sinner, Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
Just by turning up, players landed a £1.15m cheque. To place the money into context, Alcaraz earned £2.7m for beating Djokovic in this year’s Wimbledon final, the showpiece event in one of the best-known Grand Slams on the calendar.
The Six Kings Slam final threw up a contest between the two top-ranked stars in the ATP leaderboard. And it did not disappoint. A lengthy three-setter in which Alcaraz led and Sinner fought back with immense strength of character would have left the tournament’s Saudi organisers delighted with the event’s inaugural showcase.
Alcaraz edged the first set, a 7-6 success for the Spaniard. Both players pushed themselves right to the limits of their physical capabilities, showing little signs of the fact they have played for three consecutive days.
Sinner took control from then on. The 23-year-old – the world No. 1 – won the second set 6-3 to set up a crunch decider. Those inside the 8,000-capacity The Venue were treated to an epic finale.
The power with which the two players played was remarkable. One deft lob by Sinner prompted applause from his opponent. Alcaraz responded with a couple of signature rasping forehands.
But it was Sinner who ultimately took the crown. A 6-3 final-set triumph was met with a muted grin and a warm embrace by two players set to push each other to new lengths over the course of their careers.
“I wake up in the morning trying to understand the ways to beat him,” Sinner said of his rivalry with Alcaraz, which has already drawn comparisons with clashes between the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer.
“These kind of rivalries and players push us to our 100 per cent limit. I’m happy about this today. But the reason we came here was to show all of you what tennis is about. It can be long sometimes, like today. But we just try our best. Hopefully you enjoyed the show.”
