Six Kings Slam live: Scores and updates from Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner in big-money Saudi exhibition on Netflix – UK Times

Jannik Sinner was left confused after a fan rushed onto the Six Kings Slam court to request his jacket before a security guard intervened.

As the Italian left the court in Saudi Arabia after his convincing win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, a fan approached him, pointing at his Nike jacket in an apparent request to claim it as a souvenir.

Sinner appeared confused and reluctant to offer his top as a gift, though, and a security guard was then seen dragging the supporter away before the tennis star picked up his bag and walked off the court.

Sinner defeated Alcaraz in last year’s Six Kings Slam final, having also beaten Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

The Italian took home the $6m prize amid a dominant run of form towards the end of the season that included titles at the US Open and ATP Finals.

He returns as the defending champion having retired from his third-round match at the Shanghai Open after struggling physically.

The Wimbledon champion lost in the US Open final to Alcaraz – and could come face to face with the Spaniard in Riyadh for the first time since New York.

He will have to again get through Djokovic, but the Italian looked fresh in his dominant opening win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Alcaraz has also had his say about the Six Kings Slam in general, insisting that players are misunderstood when it comes to criticism over exhibition tournaments.

The Spaniard was among those voicing criticism of the demanding tour schedule in Asia, where a number of players struggled physically, with the world No 1 saying he would consider skipping mandatory events to prioritise his health.

The Spaniard understands, therefore, why there are raised eyebrows over the Six Kings Slam, but he believes critics are wide of the mark.

He said: “I think it’s a discussion that a lot of players and a lot of people are talking about with the calendar, how tight it is with a lot of tournaments and the tournaments of two weeks, and then making some, I’m going to say, excuses with exhibitions, how players are complaining about the calendar and then playing some exhibitions.”

Carlos Alcaraz is in today’s other semi-final against Taylor Fritz but has injury concerns ahead of the clash.

The six-time grand slam champion has not played since winning the Japan Open title last month and skipped the Shanghai Masters because of the ankle injury he picked up in his opening match in Tokyo.

And he’s acknowledged that he’s still not fully fit.

“I’ve been recovering the ankle as much and as good as I can,” Alcaraz has said. “I don’t feel, I would say, 100 per cent, the doubts are there thinking about it a little bit when I’m moving on court.

“But I think it improved a lot and I’m going to compete and perform well here in the Six Kings Slam.”

Sinner faces Djokovic in a mouth-watering semi-final and the Italian doesn’t take the opportunity to play an all-time great for granted.

“It’s a huge honour to play again, against a legend like Novak,” said Sinner. “We need rivalries in the sport.

“It’s great to have him still here playing in the highest level of our sport. He’s a great role model, you know, also because you look up to these guys.

“He’s still hungry to win big titles and and that’s why he still keeps playing. Hopefully it’s going to be interesting.”

Jannik Sinner said he will need to adapt to the “unusual” court at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia as he prepares for another showdown with Novak Djokovic.

Sinner raced to a 6-2 6-3 opening victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion’s first match since retiring from the Shanghai Open earlier this month.

The Italian had few problems beating Tsitsipas as he repeatedly targeted the Greek’s one-handed backhand with vicious blows from his forehand.

But he said the court at the ANB Arena was temperamental, with the surface giving an extremely high and wide bounce on some kick-serves while being flat and slow during other rallies.

The Six Kings Slam will be shown live on Netflix. It is not a ‘pay-per-view’ event and is available to Netflix customers at no additional cost.

Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz raced through to the semi-finals as the opening day of the Six Kings Slam exhibition fell flat in Saudi Arabia.

Sinner thrashed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3 to book a semi-final with Novak Djokovic after Fritz required just 59 minutes to beat Alexander Zverev and set up a clash with Carlos Alcaraz.

Both Tsitsipas and Zverev will head home from the six-player exhibition having received a reported $1.5m for turning up. The overall champion will win an additional $4.5, making the three-day event the biggest prize fund of the tennis season.

Zverev earned roughly $250,000 more for his 59-minute defeat to Fritz than he did for finishing runner-up at the Australian Open in January, and was paid around $25,000 per minute for his one match at the Six Kings Slam.

Read Jamie Braidwood’s full report on the first day of action in Riyadh:

Here’s how the schedule in Riyadh looks – remarkably today has exactly the same semi-final line-up as Wimbledon, with Carlos Alcaraz taking on Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner getting another crack at Novak Djokovic.

Six Kings Slam schedule – Thursday October 16

From 5:30pm BST (UK time)

Semi-final 1: Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz

Semi-final 2: Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner

From 5:30pm BST (UK time)

The Six Kings Slam champion will win a reported $6m (£4.5m) in prize money this week.

That makes the exhibition the biggest prize in tennis, and above the four grand slams.

Carlos Alcaraz recently took home $5m by winning the US Open, but the Six Kings Slam champion will take home more.

Six Kings Slam: $6m (£4.5m)

French Open: $2.9m (£2.17m)

Australian Open: $2.3m (£1.75m)