Former Italian Player says Jannik Sinner’s Win Over Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam Was “Worthless”
Jannik Sinner won the Six Kings Slam after beating Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in Riyadh.
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Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)
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Jannik Sinner claimed his second win over Carlos Alcaraz this season at the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament, but the competition isn’t part of the ATP Tour events so won’t count on the major scoreboard. Former Italian player Adriano Panatta has revealed that Sinner’s win was worthless at the tournament.
Sinner and Alcaraz has dominated the ATP Tour for the past two seasons and their rivalry has gotten to another level in the past five months. However, Alcaraz leads the 24-year-old 10-5 in their head-to-head record, having won six of their last seven meetings on tour. The only time Sinner managed to beat the Spaniard was at the Wimbledon Championship in July.
Their last tour meeting came at the US Open final, where Alcaraz defeated the Italian star in four sets. After the match, Sinner admitted that he needed to change somethings in his game as he was becoming more predictable against Alcaraz, which has led to four tournaments final loss against him this season.
In their first meeting since Flushing Meadows, the two faced each other in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition event. Sinner showed his class on the court, dominating their encounter and went on to win 6-2, 6-4. He went home with the biggest prize money in the sport – $6 million.
After the match, Panatta revealed that it is important not to read much meaning to the win. The 75-year-old and former World No.1 added during a conversation with La Domenica Sportiva that the exhibition final match has limited value despite Sinner’s splendid performance against the 22-year-old:
I don’t want to be a contrarian, but these exhibitions have limited value, both technically and emotionally, because I’ve never seen Sinner smile so many times during a match. I’ve played plenty of performances like this when I was playing — and we’re talking about the last century — and I know how little they’re worth. Sinner, however, had an excellent match against Alcaraz; he served and played very well, much better than the Spaniard.
Sinner entered the Six Kings Slam at the back of an unfortunate retirement at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. He was expected to defend the title but his run came to an end in the third round, where he was forced to retire after struggling with cramps and the humid conditions of the tournament.
Jannik Sinner praises for his performance against Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam
Jannik Sinner gave a much improved performance in the Six Kings Slam exhibition event final against Carlos Alcaraz. After a poor display in the US Open final over a month ago, the changes in his game made him better than Alcaraz in Riyadh. The World No.2 didn’t drop a set at the tournament, beating the likes of Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the final.
During the aforementioned interview, Adriano Panatta admitted that Sinner had made much progress in his game since September. The former Italian player added that there signs of the World No.2’s hard work behind the scenes:
As for his serve, you can see he’s worked hard and made a lot of progress, but, I repeat, these matches are worthless. It’s a good sign to see Jannik so calm and in excellent health. I’ve seen him very solid, and it’s true that against him it feels like a ping-pong match; it’s scary when he plays like that. I would never have been able to play like he does.
Sinner is now expected to be back on tour at the Paris Masters by the end of October. The 24-year-old didn’t compete in the tournament last year. However, he’s currently at the Vienna Open, where he’s the favorite to win the ATP 500 title.
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