Six Kings Slam: Carlos Alcaraz dominates Rafael Nadal in passing of the torch, sets up Sinner final

Thursday, 17 October 2024 at 22:55

For the first time since the Olympic Games, Rafael Nadal returned to action. But ahead of his impending retirement, he got a lesson from his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam.

Carlitos has defeated the Spaniard in the second semifinal of the Six Kings Slam by 6-3, 6-3. Alcaraz will now face his great rival Jannik Sinner in the final of the event, while Rafa will face Nole one last time in the match for third and fourth place.

Alcaraz started the match like a shot, winning the first two games quickly with a break. He maintained his break advantage without conceding any opportunity to Nadal until the end of the set. In the ninth game, on Rafa's serve, Carlitos pressed and gave himself several opportunities to close the set. The third time was the charm and he put 6-3 on the scoreboard.

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The second set was similar to the first. It started evenly but quickly Alcaraz put one more gear. He broke in the fourth game of the set and again held his serve without difficulty. Rafa spared his blushes but Alcaraz closed the match with his serve for another 6-3.

Both the match between Djokovic and Nadal to close the podium of the first edition of this tournament held in Saudi Arabia, and the final between Sinner and Alcaraz will be played next Saturday, October 19. It should be remembered that the Italian, despite being the most regular and best player in this season 2024, has not yet managed to beat his main rival, with whom he has faced on 3 occasions.

This also included recently in the China Open final. But Sinner then bounced back to defeat Djokovic again in Shanghai. In a fledgling rivalry though, the Spaniard seems to hold all the cards towards victory at the moment. Will that change on Saturday.

What also does the Djokovic v Nadal tie have in store too? Find out all those answers over the weekend.

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Passing the torch 🤝 Carlos Alcaraz defeats Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final as the two share an embrace and a laugh at the net 👑 #SixKingsSlam

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9:01 PM · Oct 17, 2024

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