Defending champion Jannik Sinner made a winning start at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh. World no. 2 faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final and provided a relaxed 6-2, 6-3victory in an hour and 16 minutes.
Thus, Jannik arranged the semi-final duel against Novak Djokovic, like 12 months ago. The Italian and the Greek came to Riyadh following the Shanghai Masters setbacks.
However, Sinner left those cramps behind while Tsitsipas still struggled with ongoing back issues. Stefanos received a call from the organizers and gave his best to challenge the better-ranked opponent.
However, he took only five games and left the event with $1,5 million on his pocket. Both players struggled behind the second serve, although the Greek barely won a point on it!
He faced ten break points and experienced six breaks. Jannik played against six break points and saved four, suffering a break in each set after already building a massive advantage.
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The defending champion provided a double break at the start of the duel and denied two break points in the second game for a 4-0 advantage. World no. 2 delivered his third straight break in the fifth game and had a chance to score a bagel.
However, Sinner got broken in the sixth game before wrapping up the first part of the duel after a deuce at 5-2. Like in the opener, Stefanos struggled in his games early in the second set.
He lost serve two times in a row before pulling one break back, reducing the gap to 3-1. Jannik provided another break in the ninth game after the rival's forehand error, moving over the top and setting another duel with NovakDjokovic.
