Men's tennis world number one Yannick Ciner (Italy) won the $6 million prize in the showpiece tournament of the "Six Kings of Helmet" in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Sinner defeated in the final Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) with 6:7(5), 6:3, 6:3 in two hours and 21 minutes of play, after a little earlier the Serbian Novak Djokovic beat the Spaniard Rafael Nadal with 6 :2, 7:6(5) in the third place match.
Alcaraz overcame a 1:4 deficit in the first set, leveled at 6:6 and prevailed with 7:5 points in the tiebreak. In the second set, the Spaniard again reached a 3:3 draw after trailing 1:3, but three consecutive games followed for Siner, and one break was enough for the Italian in the third set to reach the ultimate success.
The rivalry between Ciner and Alcaraz brings out the best in both of them, the Italian tennis player believes, adding that he hopes it lasts a long time.
"I woke up in the morning trying to think of ways to beat him. This type of rivalry, this type of matches always push us to 100% of our capabilities," Yannick Siner commented in his post-match interview.
"I hope this rivalry lasts as long as possible. But there are so many other great players who can step in... Let's see what's coming in the future," added the 23-year-old tennis player.
Italy's Ciner and Spain's Alcaraz have each won two Grand Slams this year, with Alcaras defeating Ciner in tight matches in the semi-finals of the "Roland Garros" and at the final of the tournament in China. They have played each other 10 times at ATP level, with the 21-year-old Spaniard winning six matches, including the last three.
"I will do everything to make this rivalry better and better... I am happy to share the court with him," said four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz.
The inaugural #SixKingsSlam champion ... Jannik Sinner 🏆 pic.twitter.com/qzXlvpLZpr
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 19, 2024