Six Kings Slam: Jannik Sinner Wins Inaugural Trophy Over Carlos Alcaraz

 

As the exhibition tournament, Six Kings Slam comes to a close in Riyadh, Jannik Sinner emerged as the inaugural champion, with three sets 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2 defeat of Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Saturday. 

Ahead of the final, Jannik had won an important match against Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Though, the Serbian player and his Spaniard counterpart, Rafael Nadal were given byes into the semi-final the world number one was yet really up to task playing against Alcaraz, nonetheless. 

Alcaraz had battled through the opening set, outlasting Jannik in a tiebreak for a set lead. The second set proved to be tougher for the Spaniard, who witnessed a rally from Jannik, breaking at 5-3 for a set-point. The third was not easy either for Alcaraz as Jannik took a convincing control of the set for a match point on his service. 

"Thank you Six Kings Slam for an incredible week!," Jannik tweeted on X. "I enjoyed it a lot and what a privilege to play with so many great players." 

In a separate match, Novak Djokovic defeated his long time rival, Rafael Nadal in two sets, 6-2 7-6(5) in the third place playoff on Saturday. The encounter potentially will be one of the last the peer will have as Nadal has announced his retirement after Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month. 

"The last dance was an epic one," Djokovic wrote in a tweet on X. "I'll cherish our rivalry forever @rafaelnadal. Tennis will miss you."

Though there are no ATP points for the tournament and the victories will not be counted in head-to-head encounter since it is an exhibition tournament. However, it comes at a huge winning price set at $6million (£4.6m).