The prestigious Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, a high-profile exhibition bringing together some of the biggest names in tennis, kicks off today with two interesting starting matches. The winners of these contests will advance to face pre-seeded stars Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Why is Djokovic seeded 2nd and not Sinner you might wonder? Because here they select seedings based on Grand Slams and not ranking.
It has been debated widely among tennis fans whether these kind of events are good for the sport. However, with the massive prize-money to be won, we would expect the players to take this tournament seriously.
Here is a look at the Day 1 matchups:
Jannik Sinner vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Head-to-Head: Tsitsipas leads 6-3
- The Stakes: A shot at the semifinals against Novak Djokovic.
This is a match-up steeped in history, though perhaps not the way the current rankings would suggest. While World No. 2 Jannik Sinner, the defending champion of this event, enters as the clear favorite for obvious reasons, Stefanos Tsitsipas holds a surprising lead in their overall head-to-head record.
Sinner lifted the trophy here last year and is surely here to try defend his title. His participation follows a recent retirement at the Shanghai Masters, so his physical fitness will be a factor to watch early on, though he’s had time to recover.
Tsitsipas, a late replacement for the injured Jack Draper, is looking for a significant win to boost his confidence after a challenging year. While his overall record against Sinner is strong, his recent form has been inconsistent, with certain injury problems and he hasn’t had a major run in months (has not won back-to-back matches since April). The Greek normally has the power and the varied shot-making to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm, but with the current form he should have no chance here today on an indoor hard court.
Prediction: While Tsitsipas has historically troubled Sinner, the Italian’s dominance on hard courts recently and the recent struggles of Tsitsipas should make this an uneven battle. If Sinner is healthy, he is expected to advance in two straight sets.
Taylor Fritz vs. Alexander Zverev
- Head-to-Head: Fritz leads 9-5
- The Stakes: A semifinal encounter with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
here we’ll see two of the biggest servers and hardest hitters on the tour against each other, but the recent form favours the American. Taylor Fritz has found the blueprint to defeat Alexander Zverev, winning their last six meetings, including matches on hard, grass and exhibition courts.
This should be a more even matchup though, can Zverev overcome the mental block of defeating Fritz?
He needs a rock-solid first serve performance and must find a way to consistently apply pressure with his backhand, preventing Fritz’s strong forehand to control the rallies.
Prediction: The match should be close, with tie-breaks likely given the serving of both men. However, given Fritz’s absolute dominance in this particular rivalry over the last two years, and recent form, it’s hard to bet against him. Fritz to win in three sets.
