World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz both secured their spots in the semifinals of the prestigious “Six Kings Slam” exhibition tennis tournament on Wednesday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The tournament is part of the country’s “Riyadh Season” and has attracted some of the biggest names in tennis.
Jannik Sinner took on former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in what turned out to be a dominant display by the Italian star. Their encounter marked a rematch from their quarterfinal clash at this year’s Shanghai Masters, but this time, Sinner quickly established his authority. He broke Medvedev’s serve early and cruised through the first set, winning 6-0. Although Medvedev showed resilience in the second set, Sinner maintained his grip on the match, closing it out with a 6-3 victory. With this win, Sinner will now face Novak Djokovic in the semifinals on Thursday.
After his match, Sinner expressed his enthusiasm about participating in the tournament, saying, “We are very happy to be here. Hopefully, we can promote tennis in this beautiful country. Novak and I know each other very well; we just played in Shanghai a few days ago. It’s going to be a very interesting match, but our main goal is to show good tennis.”
In the second match of the night, Carlos Alcaraz faced Holger Rune of Denmark in an intense battle. Both players held serve for the first eight games, but Alcaraz managed to secure a critical break in the ninth game, ultimately taking the first set 6-4. Alcaraz maintained his momentum in the second set, breaking Rune’s serve early and controlling the pace of the match to win the set 6-2. His victory sets up a highly anticipated semifinal clash with fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
Nadal, who recently announced his intention to retire after the Davis Cup finals in November, presents a unique challenge for Alcaraz. Speaking about their upcoming match, Alcaraz acknowledged the emotional weight of playing against the tennis legend.
“Knowing that he’s going to retire from tennis is pretty tough for everyone, especially for me. I don’t know if it’s a privilege to play against him once more or if it’s going to be tough for me. I’ll try to enjoy sharing the court with him again, but it’s really difficult for everyone,” Alcaraz shared.
The “Six Kings Slam” exhibition tournament, which runs on October 16, 17, and 19, features six of the world’s top tennis players. The winner will take home a grand prize of 6 million U.S. dollars, making it a key event of the sports calendar this season.