Riyadh, Oct 17 (IANS): World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz both secured victories, advancing to the semifinals of Saudi Arabia's "Six Kings Slam" exhibition tennis tournament.
Sinner faced former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, meeting him again after their quarterfinal clash at the Shanghai Masters this year. The Italian quickly found his rhythm, breaking Medvedev's serve early and taking the first set 6-0. Medvedev showed signs of recovery in the second set, but Sinner maintained his dominant form to close out the match with a 6-3 victory. Sinner will now face Serbian star Novak Djokovic in the semifinals on Thursday.
After the match, Sinner expressed his excitement about competing in Saudi Arabia, saying, "We are very happy to be here. Hopefully, we can promote tennis in this beautiful country. I and Novak, we know each other very well. We just played in Shanghai a few days ago. It's gonna be a very interesting match. But our main goal is to show good tennis."
In the second match of the night, Alcaraz faced Denmark's Holger Rune. Both players held serve through the first eight games, with Alcaraz securing a crucial break in the ninth game to win the first set 6-4. Alcaraz then broke Rune's serve early in the second set and maintained control, winning the set 6-2 to seal the victory. Alcaraz will meet fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, reports Xinhua.
Nadal recently announced his intention to retire from professional tennis after the Davis Cup finals in November. Speaking about his upcoming match against Nadal, Alcaraz admitted having mixed emotions.
"Knowing that he's going to retire from tennis is pretty tough for everyone, for me. So I don't know if it's a privilege playing against him once again or it's going to be tough for me. I will try to enjoy sharing the court with him once again, but it's really difficult for everyone," he said.
The "Six Kings Slam" exhibition tennis tournament, held on October 16, 17, and 19, is a key event of Saudi Arabia's "Riyadh Season" this year. Six renowned tennis players are competing in the tournament, with the winner taking home a grand prize of USD 6 million.