Jannik Sinner, it was a foregone conclusion: there was just no way, everything was bound to collapse.
This time the analysts drew a blank. They were certain that the winner of the first edition of the Six Kings Slam would be Carlos Alcaraz, but we know full well that the epilogue of the exhibition tournament staged in Saudi Arabia was quite different. The Iberian yes won the first partial of the hard-fought final, only to surrender, however, to an unstoppable Jannik Sinner.
The two opponents put on a show and did not spare each other, however, the South Tyrolean was more continuous in his performance, so much so that he won, in fact, the scepter of King of Riyad and also a great bruzzolo. Up for grabs was, as you may recall, the highest prize money of all time: $6 million, far more than a tennis player would win should he win a Slam. There was more on the plate than just a super-sized check, though. There was, above all, the luster of winning the most prestigious exhibition of the year.
Nothing has ever been left to chance, ever since Saudi Arabia announced its willingness to organize a high-ranking tennis event and to convene, for the occasion, the 6 best champions on the scene. And it was predictable that it would be all theatrical and hyper-staged. This was already inferred just from the trailer that was released a few weeks before the event, for that matter.
The opponents crumble and Sinner laughs it off
In the introduction video, the Six Kings Slam had been depicted as a kind of battle of titans. Each of the competing tennis players possessed distinct weapons and super powers, and it was clear that the Saudis dreamed of a no-holds-barred clash
The closing video tennis | Sinner | SixKingsSlam
– Luca Fiorino (@FiorinoLuca) October 20, 2024
The fight on the edge they had and, happy with the event’s denouement, they released via social media one last video. A clip that encapsulates within it the worthy conclusion of an unrepeatable, one-of-a-kind event, and expresses in full the greatness of the appointment that there was in Riyadh. Once again, all the competing champions were portrayed as fighters, but with one major difference from the trailer.
This time, the tennis players crumble one by one, in the exact order in which they were eliminated from the tournament. All except Baron Sinner, who proudly smiles slyly, pecking away at the crown,q the money and the value at stake at the most glamorous event of the 2024 season.