Mutual jokes and praise between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner at the end of the final of the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh won against Carlos Alcaraz spares no praise for his friend-rival and is satisfied with the game expressed: “I would like to play always as I do here. There’s a need for Carlos and other players to keep improving, especially him.”

“This season I lost to him; it is a pleasure to play him but I always want to improve. It&#8217s nice to have a rivalry but even more important is the friendship that&#8217s between us. I don&#8217t have the sleight of hand that Carlos has; I have to learn it. However – jokes Sinner –I won”t join him on the golf courses.

“And I won’t ski with him – Alcaraz tells him in return, jokingly alluding to the South Tyrolean’s past as a skier when he was a kid -. When Jannik plays like that, it’s really unbelievable. He is hard to deal with. When he serves like that and responds the way he does, it’s hard to stay calm. Sometimes it looks like he is playing ping-pong and it is not fun to be on the other side of the net.”

“It gives me motivation to go back to training and be better than him. Sometimes I wrote to him to see how he was doing or to compliment him. There isn&#8217t only rivalry. You can be friends even off the field. We showed that. We talk a lot,” Alcaraz concludes.