Carlos Alcaraz has confessed it is “not funny” to face Jannik Sinner following his defeat to the Italian in the Six Kings Slam final – but his rival insists the pair are good friends off the court. Sinner relied on an enhanced serve to produce a commanding display as he clinched a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Alcaraz in Riyadh on Saturday.
The triumph arrived after Novak Djokovic withdrew following just one set in the third-place play-off, forcing Taylor Fritz to select a winner for the subsequent final. Whilst the Six Kings Slam is an exhibition event and will not contribute towards rankings or head-to-head statistics, Sinner remained determined to exact revenge after his loss to the Spaniard in the US Open final. He prevailed in impressive fashion to guarantee he arrives at the ATP Finals in excellent form.
The result proved crucial for Sinner, whose Wimbledon victory over Alcaraz represents his sole triumph against the world No. 1 in their previous eight official encounters.
Alcaraz heaped praise upon his opponent, who collected £4.5million in prize money. The pair enjoy a cordial relationship, yet when questioned whether he relishes facing Sinner when the Italian performs at his peak, Alcaraz responded: “Not really. Sometimes it seems like he’s playing ping pong. It’s not funny being on the other side of the net.”
Alcaraz continued: “I always say that when he plays such great tennis, it gives me motivation to go to the practice court, give my 100 per cent, try to be better. It’s kind of a mix. Sometimes he’s annoying, but at the same time, he gives me extra motivation.”
Sinner admitted his performance in the Six Kings Slam final was particularly impressive, expressing a desire to “could play like this everywhere.”
The 24-year-old confessed he contemplates how to enhance his game for future matches against Alcaraz. “You think a lot about that,” Sinner revealed. “That’s exactly why you need Carlos and many other players… to keep improving, to keep looking up to certain players.
“Especially for me, this is Carlos. Because especially this season, we played many times.. I lost many times against Carlos.
“It’s a tremendous pleasure and honour to share the court with him. At the same time, you want to improve as a tennis player. You need rivalries. It’s wonderful to have a great rivalry, more importantly a great friendship off court. We have a very, very special friendship. It’s very nice.”
When the on-court interviewer suggested the post-match pleasantries were particularly pleasant, Alcaraz was asked if he sends Sinner congratulatory messages after significant victories. The world No.1 grinned and admitted: “Yes, sometimes.
“A few times I wrote him just to see how he’s doing. To congratulate him. Like he said, we have a special relationship and friendship off the court. Not only the on court rivalry.. people might think when two players are competing for great things, they can’t have a great friendship off court. We show that it’s possible as well.”
