Jannik Sinner stayed perfect at the Six Kings Slam, winning his second straight title at the lucrative exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by beating Carlos Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday night.
Sinner is trailing 10-5 in the overall head-to-head series, but the 24-year-old Italian has now defeated the 22-year-old Spaniard twice in a row at this six-man tournament.
“It’s great to have rivals, we have a great rivalry,” Sinner assured. “But we also have a special friendship. It is always nice to share the court with Carlos… Especially this season we have played a lot; I have also lost to Carlos many times. It is a great pleasure and an honor to share the court with him, but at the same time you want to improve as a tennis player.”
“It’s nice to have a great rivalry and also – more importantly – a great friendship off the field. We have a very, very special, special friendship, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Of course, friendships are cast aside on the pitch, and Sinner showed no mercy in Sunday’s final. The four-time Grand Slam champion broke Alcaraz in the first game of the match and never looked back. He won more than 80 percent of his service points and did not face a single break point.
“He played great today,” said Alcaraz. “He didn’t let me get a good rhythm. He improved the serve a lot, and I could feel that. No break points today, which is something strange for me, that I’m used to (having) at least one break point in the match. But when he really serves, [well]it’s really hard to play. I couldn’t find a solution today, so I think he deserved it.”
Sinner now heads straight to Vienna for the Erste Bank Open. The world number 2 has a strong field that also includes Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik.
Alcaraz is free until the Paris Masters, followed by the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
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