Winner of this year’s Australian Open and US Open, Sinner is coming off a busy fall swing that includes a runner-up finish at the China Open, a win at the Rolex Shanghai Masters over Novak Djokovic, and an extremely lucrative appearance at the inaugural Six Kings Slam exhibition. The 23-year-old Italian took home over six million dollars (USD) in both appearance and prize money for winning the six-man event in Riyadh, and ignited discussion from a subsequent interview during which he claimed he doesn’t “play for money.”
A message from Jannik to the fans who is sad to annonce that he has to retire due to illness, get well soon @janniksin ❤️🩹#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/ZigQMMKSAh
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 29, 2024
“Of course, it’s a nice prize and everything,” Sinner explained, “but for me, I went there because there were possibly the six best players in the world. And then you can measure yourself with them.
“It was also a nice event for me. It was the first time I went to Riyadh and it was nice. When you come back as a winner, for me, it was more that, ‘Okay, I played the matches in the right way and this hopefully can improve me as a player also for the future.’”
Sinner, who has already clinched a berth at the ATP Finals in Turin, was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Arthur Cazaux. The 22-year-old Frenchman was extra lucky to inherit the two-time major champ’s first-round bye, and will open against either compatriot Corentin Moutet or American Ben Shelton, who reached the finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel last week.
