Riyadh now has its first king. The Six Kings Slam crowns a Sinner (6-7, 6-3, 6-3) who extends his state of grace this season. Eighth trophy of the season – if the million-dollar Saudi exhibition is made official – for the tennis player who will close the year at the top of the ATP rankings. Alcaraz was unable to avoid it, sometimes in overdrive, after another high-tension match between the two.
The artificial tournament in Riyadh, deceived by holograms and above all millions of euros, was the brush that finished drawing the generational change that has been preparing for two years. Alcaraz and Sinner in the final after respectively leaving Nadal and Djokovic, historical dominators of the racket, in the running. The transalpine and Murcian duels present a candidacy to inherit the weight of those of the Balearics and the Balkans.
Sinner has this virtue of escape which allows him to overcome difficult times and put out the fire started by Alcaraz. Loose and energetic, he distributed the game from the anchor of the court and moved the Murcian inspired with his forehand and solid with his backhand. He broke Carlos’ serve in the second, but, as happened in Beijing against the same rival, he lost finesse as the set progressed.
From 4-1 to 5-5. From dancing in the rain to having water up to your neck. Alcaraz forced the tie-break after not hesitating to exchange winning shots. The Murcian took out his armor and once the initial mess was resolved, he pushed. His success with the forehand allowed him to gain precision and confidence in his serve. He only conceded one service during a tie-break scored after a long forehand from the Italian.
