“We are also here to make money,” says Alcaraz about his participation in the exhibition in Saudi Arabia.

Between two Masters 1000s, that of Shanghai and that of Paris, the world number one Jannik Sinner made a short detour to Saudi Arabia, to participate in the very lucrative Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune. With three victories in toris matches, the world number 1 offered himself a nice check for 6 million dollars, almost twice as much as the prize money he received for his title at the US Open! In an interview given to Eurosportthe Italian nevertheless assured: “I don’t play for money”.

Asked this Monday at a press conference about his motivations for competing in the Six Kings Slam, Carlos Alcaraz was less tongue-in-cheek. After a nervous laugh and a hesitation, he said: “If I say I went there just to have fun, to play tennis without thinking about money, I'm going to be lying. Everyone works for money too. It's the way life works. I love playing tennis and most of the time I don't think about money. I play for the love of tennis, to have fun. But hey, you have to be realistic, we're also here to make money. This tournament had the highest possible prize money. It was still a good motivation for me.”