The good news for Carlos Alcaraz is that he only loses in exhibitions. He lost in the Laver Cup to Taylor Fritz and did so again on Saturday in the final of the Six Kings Slam against Jannik Sinner. The Italian, the winner by 6-2 and 6-4, retains the crown of tennis king of Saudi Arabia and takes home the six million dollar check
The match with Sinner came too soon for Carlitos. He is still unsure of his movements after the grade 2 sprain to his left ankle that he suffered on September 25 in the first round of the 500 Open in Tokyo
Jannik arrived at the event eager to make amends after losing to the Spaniard in the US Open final (four to one for the Spaniard in the 2025 head-to-head) and losing the world number one ranking
The San Candido tennis player also arrived rested having been eliminated in the third round of the Shanghai Masters 1000 by cramps.
The humidity of Shanghai has turned into 612 meters of altitude in Riyadh. And that favored him in some shots, such as the serve. The second ATP racket won the draw and chose to return to pass the hot potato to his opponent. Sinner’s break came, which shot the score to 5-1, with a double break of serve.
The Italian was playing at such a speed that he did not let Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil look for solutions. The conditions (indoor hard court) are Jannik’s preferred conditions and will be the ones he will encounter for the rest of the season: Paris Masters, ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Final 8
There was no longer the laughter of previous days. A match between the two best is to be taken very seriously. Sinner was unstoppable on serve and that put extra pressure on the Spaniard every time he put the ball into play. He had to take a lot of risks to generate winning shots
Alcaraz was on the ropes in the fifth game of the second set. With 2-2 and 15-40. He saved two break points and a third immediately afterwards. Sinner, who felt superior, did not want to reach a third set. That’s why he went on the attack again in the seventh round and this time he achieved his goal. He accelerated towards victory. His victim did not have a single break option. The two ended up hugging and waving to each other’s benches. This is a well-understood rivalry.
From Riyadh to Vienna
The brand new king of Arabia will have no time for celebration because next week he is signed up for the ATP 500 in Vienna. He is running out of options to finish the season as world number one. He will make his debut against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier
For both Alcaraz and his team, the defeat does not change the plan because they already knew that he was short of preparation for the Six Kings Slam. On the horizon, Paris. Netflix’s production and the spectacular staging of the two protagonists is something to behold. Take note
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