Carlos Alcaraz Makes ‘Ping Pong’ Joke After Losing $6 million to ‘Annoying’ Jannik Sinner at Six Kings Slam
The next tournament where both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will be in the same draw is the Paris Masters.
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Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)
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When Jannik Sinner plays at his best, it makes things difficult for Carlos Alcaraz. This is what the Spaniard admitted after losing easily to the Italian ace 6-2, 6-4 in the Six Kings Slam final.
It was the second time Alcaraz lost to Sinner after six clashes, with the first being the World No.2’s maiden win at Wimbledon. Last year as well, Sinner pocketed the $6 million prize money after beating the six-time Grand Slam champion. Sinner, however, still trails 5-10 in the head-to-head matchups, given that the Six Kings Slam was an exhibition event.
Sometimes it seems like he’s playing ping pong, so it’s not funny, to be honest, being at the other side of the net, but I always said that. When he plays such great tennis, it gives me motivation just to then go to the practice court, give him 100 per cent, try to be better.
Carlos Alcaraz said during his on-court interview
Alcaraz received a first-round bye, while the four-time Grand Slam champion had to play the quarterfinals, where he went past Stefanos Tsitsipas. In the semifinals, Sinner beat Novak Djokovic, while the World No.1 went past Taylor Fritz.
Sometimes he’s annoying, but at the same time, he gives me extra motivation. We have a special friendship off the court, which is great. Sometimes people think when two tennis players are competing for the great things, are giving their best on the court, they cannot have a great friendship. I think we show it’s possible as well.
Carlos Alcaraz added
There was also a third-place match in the Six Kings Slam. Fritz won it because Djokovic retired mid-match after losing the first set.
Paolo Bertolucci on the effect of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance on the ATP tour
Since last year, whenever Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz play, they have almost always reached the final. Former player Paolo Bertolucci, during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, thinks the dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz is creating an imbalance on the ATP Tour because when they are not playing, the result becomes unpredictable.
He also pointed out that 38-year-old Novak Djokovic is no longer able to play constantly at a higher level and challenge these two youngsters, thus leaving the ATP tour more open in the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz.
Not due to any fault of his [Djokovic’s] own, but because world tennis is currently experiencing an obvious void: behind the two dominators, there are no real challengers. This is the most serious problem, even more than the natural decline of veterans.
The Shanghai Masters was the first big tournament since the Monte Carlo Masters (both Alcaraz and Sinner skipped the Madrid Open), where Alcaraz nor Sinner couldn’t reach the final. Because of an ankle injury he suffered during the Japan Open, the 22-year-old skipped the Shanghai event, while Sinner failed to defend his title because of cramps, which forced him to retire mid-match in the third round.
Sinner’s next goal is to win his fourth title of the season at the Vienna Open. The first seed will be kick-starting his campaign against Daniel Altmaier.
He will bid for his second title in the tournament after his win in 2023 over Daniil Medvedev. The 24-year-old had skipped the ATP 500 event last year.
After Vienna, both Sinner and Alcaraz will be heading to Paris for the indoor hard-court Masters 1000 event, which is also the last event of the season in this category. The Paris Masters is going to play a crucial role in the rankings table, as winning the tournament will help Alcaraz increase the rankings gap between him and Sinner.
Also read: Novak Djokovic Admits his 2025 Season has not Been Fully Satisfying
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