On Thursday, at the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition in Saudi Arabia, Carlos Alcaraz will try to enjoy the confrontation between his “idol” and compatriot Rafael Nadal for the last time.
Alcaraz is in Riyadh for the lucrative event, which is not an ATP-sanctioned tournament but features Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Yannick Cine.
Nadal and Djokovic have byes to the last four and Alcaraz set up a potentially emotional showdown with his fellow Spaniard after a 6-4 6-2 win over Holger Rohn in the second quarter-final on Wednesday.
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Neymar joined Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam to the delight of fans.
On 10 October, Nadal announced that he would retire from the sport after next month’s Davis Cup final in Spain, where he will play Alcaraz.
Alcaraz admitted he had mixed feelings about competing with Nadal, his partner at the Paris Olympics, for a place in the final of the Six Kings Slam, which offers £4.6m for the winner of the showpiece. event
“Since I started playing tennis, I follow his matches. I look up to him and I grew up looking up to him. He was my idol, he is still my idol,” Alcaraz said during his on-field interview.
“He is a really important person for my life, for my career, and he was one of the reasons why I wanted to become a professional tennis player. Knowing that he is going to retire is pretty hard for everyone, for me.
“I’ll try to enjoy sharing the court with him once again, but I think it’s really difficult for everyone.”
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Yannick Siner reviews vs Daniil Medvedev
The world No.1 is also through to the semi-finals, where he will face Djokovic, after a 6-0 6-3 win over familiar foe Daniil Medvedev, who has lost eight of his last nine meetings to the Italian.
Nadal: “It’s too early to compare the Sin-Alcaraz rivalry with me, Federer and Djokovic.”
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Nadal says that Sinner and Alcaraz are already big stars, but it is too early to compare their rivalry with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
“The next generation is very young, they are winning Grand Slams and Masters 1000s. They are already huge stars, and I am sure that if they can avoid injuries, they will build a great career,” said the 22-year-old Nadal. – All-time Grand Slam champion.
“They’re making their own history, so it’s not the right time to compare because Novak is still there while me and Roger are gone, but that’s part of a sporting career.
“So a new generation is coming in and we have to let them create their own rivalry and history. They don’t need to compare anything to us. Let’s see at the end of their careers what they did and what we did.”
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?
- Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20 – Dan Evans in action)
- Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
- Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20 – Katie Boulter in action)
- Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
- Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into it Sky TVstreaming service NOW! and: The Sky Sports appthis year giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport at no extra cost. Learn more here.
