A few weeks before being partners in the Davis Cup final (November 19-24 in Malaga), Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal were opponents Thursday evening as part of the Six Kings Slam, a sumptuous exhibition organized in Saudi Arabia. Unsurprisingly, it was the younger of the two Spaniards who won, in two sets (6-3, 6-3).
In Riyadh, the score is less severe, but the context of a match without stakes makes it difficult to assess. The fact remains that he was regularly outpaced in the game by his younger brother. Certainly, Nadal is no longer at his “prime”, but he suffered from the comparison as soon as the exchange took place. Moreover, he went to the net as soon as possible in order to shorten rallies that he knew he could no longer win.
A forehand that always performs well
However, not everything had to be thrown away. Already, Nadal has shown off his good hand at the net. Above all, he proved that his forehand could still put a world No. 2 away from the ball. But these were only sequences, brilliant, but episodic. When his first ball gave him time, he could position himself correctly to play a winning shot. But as soon as Alcaraz returned well, he quickly found himself in trouble. The question is whether he can do better than these sequences and impact the entire match. He still has a month of work (and a final match against Djokovic, Saturday, for third place) to answer this question.
As for the final of the Six Kings Slam, it will pit the two best players of the season against each other since Alcaraz will be opposed to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, winner in the other half for Djokovic in three sets (6-2, 6-7 [0]6-4). The winner will walk away with six million dollars.
2024-10-17 21:15:00