Alexander Zverev swiftly exited the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh on Friday, falling to Jannik Sinner in just 59 minutes and raising questions about the value of the event’s significant $1.5 million winner’s prize. The defeat marks another one-sided victory for sinner, who dominated Tsitsipas earlier in the tournament and continues a winning streak against top-tier opponents.The Six Kings Slam, a new exhibition event featuring six of the world’s top players, promised a high-stakes showdown. However, Zverev’s rapid loss casts a shadow over the event’s financial implications, particularly given the lucrative payout awaiting the champion. Tsitsipas also lost to Sinner,who was relentless in opening up a 5-0 lead against the Greek,repeatedly targeting his one-handed backhand.Despite a 6-3 winning record against Sinner coming into the exhibition, tsitsipas was defeated after 76 minutes, with Sinner limiting his loss to just five games. “We played already many times, of course,” Sinner said. “By the time we become better players and we certainly know each other’s game a little bit more, so I knew a little bit also tactically how to prepare for the match. I just tried to stay quiet aggressive,especially on the return games. I felt like I was serving very well in the crucial moments.”
Sinner now advances to face Novak djokovic, against whom he has won both matches this season – in the French Open and Wimbledon semi-finals – and including their meeting in last year’s Six King semi-finals. “It’s a huge honor to play again, against a legend like Novak,” Sinner said. “It’s great to have him still here playing in the highest level of our sport. He’s a great role model. He’s still hungry to win big titles and and that’s why he still keeps playing. Hopefully it’s going to be fascinating tomorrow.”
Sinner also commented on the unusual court surface in Riyadh, noting its bouncy nature on kick-serves but flatness and slowness during rallies.”It’s a very unusual indoor court,” Sinner said. “It is a very interesting situation we have to deal with here on the court because it’s quite bouncy, with new balls it’s quite fast and it slows down with with used balls.”
