by Rafael Nadal suffered a defeat against Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam in one of his last games before retiring.
Nadal faced Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Six Kings Slam after receiving a bye in the quarterfinals of the inaugural event.
Meanwhile, in the quarterfinals in Riyadh, the venue of the lucrative tournament, Alcaraz prevailed against Holger Rune.
Daniil Medvedev earned $1.5 million for his appearance, with the Russian losing his quarterfinal against Jannik Sinner in just 68 minutes.
Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic and the world number one set up a Six Kings Slam final at Alcaraz.
Carlos Moya makes a prediction of Carlos Alcaraz
And despite his semi-final defeat against his compatriot, Nadal still has one game left in Saudi Arabia and is fighting for third place with Djokovic.
Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya will now be busy preparing the veteran for another clash with his long-term rival, but he took time to praise Alcaraz after reaching another final.
READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz says who he thinks is the best player in the world right now
Speaking about Alcaraz on Sky Sports Tennis, Moya said: “Not about his future, but about his present! He is already a great player and has won four Grand Slams so far.
“I think he will have a great career ahead of him. It’s great to watch him play, he makes every single shot. He’s fun to watch and of course I wish him all the best.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner meet in the Six Kings Slam final
It remains to be seen how far Alcaraz will go in tennis, as the Spaniard has already enjoyed so much success in his short career.
At just 21 years old, he has four Grand Slam titles to his name and also reached first place in the world rankings.
Alcaraz has a total of 16 ATP Tour-level tour titles, including four this season, and his overall win-loss record is 206-53.
READ MORE: Six Kings Slam 2024: How to watch, prize money, rules, dates and everything you need to know
There may be no ATP ranking points at the Six Kings Slam, but silver and prize money are on offer and both Alcaraz and Sinner will undoubtedly give it their all to win.
It’s also about the little thing to brag about, as neither player wants to lose momentum in their great rivalry so far.
The same situation will prevail in the third-place playoff between Nadal and Djokovic, with the former certainly looking to get a win over the latter one last time before elimination.
Related Posts
