SECOND WEEK. In the first game, with Sinner serving, Djokovic scores the break. The match is not a given for Jannik. Nole consolidates and goes 2-0. In the fourth game, down 2-1, Sinner has a great chance to recover, with three consecutive break points. The first one is enough: he closes the game at zero on Djokovic’s serve. Equality. We proceed without further breaks until 5-5. Jannik goes down 0-30, but then recovers and holds serve, earning at least the tiebreak. So it is: Nole holds serve. The set is decided in tiebreak. Which started badly for the blue, with Djokovic immediately running away at 3-0. Sinner doesn’t find the first and the Serbian goes up 5-0, then 6-0 and set point. It ends 7-0, we are 1-1.
FIRST WEEK. We start with Sinner at the service. The first point for Djoker, but the game goes to Jannik. In the second game, very heavy responses from the world number 1, who reaches 40-0 with three break points.
The first goes away with a great serve from the Serbian, the second with an ace, the third is the right one: Jannik immediately goes up 2-0. As against Medvedev, the Italian is very solid on serve and ends the game at zero. Djokovic, however, is not the type to give up and in the fourth game he imposes himself with authority.
The same as Sinner in the next game. It goes 4-2 for Jannik. Which becomes 5-2 after the number 1’s turn of service, despite an initial uncertainty that puts him in the uncomfortable situation of 0-30. Three great premieres put everything back into place. With Nole serving, two set points arrive for Sinner. One is enough: 1-0 in 27 minutes.
RIAD. After having roughed up Medvedev in the debut match of the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia, Jannik Sinner returns to the pitch today for the semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian champion, like the other legend Rafa Nadal, comes into play directly in the semifinals, according to the curious scoreboard of the Riyadh tournament.
Whoever passes will challenge in the final the winner of the all-Spanish derby between Nadal himself and Carlos Alcaraz, who easily got rid of Rune yesterday. It will be what the Spanish media have dubbed “the last one Nadalcaraz”, the last challenge, that is, between the old champion, who announced his retirement after the Davis finals, and the young lion, number 2 in the world.
Even though it is an exhibition tournament, Sinner and Djokovic are unlikely to lower their guard. For their character, first of all: both are not used to taking to the field just to participate. And, if that wasn’t enough, there is the rich prize money that the final offers, 4.5 million dollars, in addition to the 1.5 million attendance fee already collected by all six protagonists..