Jannik Sinner wins in straight sets over great rival Carlos Alcaraz to claim second successive Six Kings Slam title in Riyadh
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Jannik Sinner was victorious again in Saudi Arabia as he secured the Six Kings Slam title for the second year in a row at Riyadh Season with a spectacular performance in the final to overcome current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4.
Broadcast live to a global audience on Netflix, the latest chapter in the Alvaraz v Sinner rivalry saw the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion put on a clinical display on the final night in the ANB Arena, going unbroken on his way to a straight sets victory and providing the perfect response after his US Open final defeat to Alcaraz last month.
The unique 24 carat gold racket trophy, made especially by Riyadh Season for this tournament, was presented to the triumphant Italian by His Excellency Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of ARAMCO, along with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), accompanied by, Amin Nasser, President and CEO of ARAMCO.
Jannik Sinner said:
“I wish I could play like this everywhere. Producing this kind of tennis obviously makes me very happy. It is always nice to share the court with Carlos, he has made an incredible job throughout the whole season, working very hard, winning incredible titles.
“We have played many, many times this season, I have had some very tough losses and also some great wins. You need to adapt when you play against Carlos. You want to get better as a tennis player, you need rivalries in the sport so it is nice to have a great rivalry and also, more importantly, a great friendship off the court and we have a very special friendship, it is very nice.
“We come here [Riyadh] because we love to play here, we love the atmosphere, we thank everyone for coming, for sharing, the whole tournament, the organisation is amazing.”
Carlos Alcaraz said:
“Jannik played great tennis today and when he plays at this level it is always difficult. No break points for me, which is something weird because I am used to having at least one break point in the match but when he is serving that way, when he is returning that way, it is difficult to stay calm so you feel the pressure. It’s really difficult to play so I couldn’t find solutions today.
“I always said that when he plays such great tennis he gives me more motivation just to then go to the practice court, give 100% and try to be better, so it is for me sometimes he is annoying but other times he gives me extra motivation.”
Before the showpiece final, fans were treated to an enthralling opening set in the third-place play-off with world No. 5 Taylor Fritz edging a tense tiebreak 7-6 (7) against Novak Djokovic, played over 75 minutes and featuring nine break points. Djokovic, who finished third in last year’s edition, was forced to retire after the first set. This handed Fritz, who is playing in his first Six Kings Slam, the victory and this year’s third-place finish.
Taylor Fritz said:
“That was really physical, you get into those really long games and the ball just starts to wear out and gets so huge to the point where it is so hard to get a free point on the serve, hit a winner, it’s almost like playing the long points, playing the long games, it makes everything just slower, longer, so it is just such a tough set and at the end of it, like I said, conditions got so slow, we were just playing long rallies back-to-back-to-back just having to fight for every point, so it’s just brutal.
“Novak’s been beating me for a very long time, it’s probably been at least the last eight years so it’s always a pleasure to share the court with the best players of all time. It’s the final push now. I want to finish the year strong now, play some good tennis and there’s still a lot of stuff I want to work on too.”
Novak Djokovic said:
“I want to apologise to everybody. I’m sorry you couldn’t see the second set but credit to Taylor, I mean we had some incredible games towards the end of that set and it’s one of the longest sets I’ve ever played, to be honest. It was an amazing visit to Riyadh for me once again, I want to thank everybody for really welcoming me. Now it is rest and really addressing some of the issues I have with my body and then hopefully playing the last couple of tournaments of the season, let’s see.”
