Jannik Sinner arrived in Riyadh ahead of the Six Kings Slam title defense. World no. 2 will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final on October 15. If he wins, the four-time Major winner will face Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, like a year ago.
Despite being the defending champion and world no. 2, the organizers did not give Jannik a bye for the semi-final, favoring Djokovic instead. However, the San Candido native is the favorite alongside Carlos Alcaraz, who leads the upper half of the draw.
Sinner lost the ATP throne to Alcaraz after the US Open. The Italian conquered Beijing before retiring in the third round of the Shanghai Masters due to severe cramps.
Jannik flew to Monte Carlo and underwent checks, eager to prevent that setback in the future. After taking a couple of days off the court, the Italian is ready to compete again and chase $6 million like 12 months ago!
Last year, the organizers got two memorable matches on the final day. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal battled for the third place, while the world's best players, Sinner and Alcaraz, fought in the final.
The Italian prevailed 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 20 minutes, taking home the biggest prize money in tennis history. Jannik dropped the opener before outplaying his great rival with four breaks in sets two and three.
The Spaniard came from 4-1 down in the first set, erasing the deficit and clinching a tight tie break 7-5 to move in front after 66 minutes. Sinner bounced back and clinched three breaks in the secondset.
Alcaraz pulled the break back at love in the sixth game and locked the result at 3-3. However, he lost serve in games seven and nine, allowing the Italian to clinch the set 6-3 and gain a boost.
Jannik delivered five comfortable holds in the final set and kept the pressure on the other side. He clinched the final three games at 3-3 to emerge at the top and collect the biggest prize money in tennis history.
The Italian will try to repeat that success this week.
