Carlos Alcaraz has made it past the quarter-finals of the Six Kings Slam , a tournament based in Riyadh. It is a tournament created in Saudi Arabia that brings together the six best tennis players in the world, and whoever wins will take home a prize of six million euros. The tennis player from Murcia has managed to qualify for the semi-finals after beating Holger Rune in two sets 6-4 and 6-2. The curious thing about this situation is that in the next round we will be able to see for the last time a duel between the Spaniard and Rafa Nadal, after the latter announced his retirement.
This is a historic match, and it is the last time we will see them together on the court after the player from Manacor decided to end his career. It will be in the Davis Cup, representing his country, when he says goodbye to professional sport, but until that day comes, we will still see him competing in some other tournaments.
This pairing is possible due to the way the Grand Prix is organised. The participants are Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, however the latter two went straight to the next round without having to face anyone thanks to their status, which has allowed the two Spanish tennis players to face each other.
🗣️ “Nací viéndolo jugar. Es una de las razones por las que empecé a ser tenista profesional y fue duro cuando anunció que se retiraba”
Carlos Alcaraz y su precioso mensaje a Rafa Nadal 🥹#6KingsSlam #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/Qt7cD74dIu
— DAZN España (@DAZN_ES) October 16, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz could be seen happy on the court right after the match, alongside Neymar, who was in the venue watching the match. The Murcian also made certain statements about the duel he will face against Rada Nadal and cannot hide his admiration for the player from Manacor: “I was born watching him play. It is one of the reasons why I started being a professional tennis player and it was hard when he announced his retirement,” and he assures that despite the fact that “it doesn’t matter if he has been out for three or four months,” in the end “being the legend that he is, he will come back stronger than before.”
