Carlos Alcaraz moves to within one win of incredible prize money milestone after Taylor Fritz win

Kevin Palmer
Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz
Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz at the Six Kings Slam

Carlos Alcaraz was in sensational form as he dispatched Taylor Fritz in convincing fashion at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia – and now he is eyeing up an epic prize money milestone.

Making his first appearance on court since he beat Fritz in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo after he opted to skip the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, Alcaraz did not appear to be troubled by the ankle injury that kept him out of the event in China, which was covered by first.com.

From first point to last, this was vintage Alcaraz and he was especially impressive with his trademark drop shots, as he successfully executed 12 of the 13 he attempted to rock Fritz onto the ropes as he sealed a 6-4, 6-2 win.

“I’m just really happy that everyone enjoyed the match,” said Alcaraz on Netflix. “I just came here to have fun and to feel the love from the crowd. I’m really pleased and happy that I was able to do it today.

“The drop shot was good today. I realised after five or six that I was winning all the drop shots I was making. So it became a tactic. That’s what I did.

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“At the beginning, I knew the drop shot was going to be a great weapon today.”

Alcaraz was smiling throughout a match and there is little wonder that he is enjoying life, as he is now just one win away from claiming a stunning $4.5m prize money windfall if he can win the Six Kings Slam final on Saturday.

All players taking part in this exhibition event are collecting a $1.5m appearance fee, but the figure will leap to $6m is Alcaraz can lift the title in Riyadh.

Having won $16,048,017 already after a season that has seen Alcaraz lift eight titles and add two more Grand Slam titles to his collection at the French Open and US Open, Alcaraz will crash through the $20m prize money barrier for 2025 if he can lift the Six Kings Slam title.

The money earned in this event is not added to his official total as the Six Kings Slam is not an official ATP event, but it will be a huge addition to his cash haul.

Alcaraz and the players competing in Saudi Arabia have been criticised for chasing the big cash on offer in Saudi Arabia, with injuries and fatigue a big issue at this phase of the season.

Yet Alcaraz has defended his decision to play in another event, after conceding last year the big lure of playing in the Six Kings Slam is the money on offer.

“I think it’s a discussion that a lot of players and a lot of people are talking about with the calendar, how tight it is with a lot of tournaments and the tournaments of two weeks, and then making some, I’m going to say, excuses with exhibitions, how players are complaining about the calendar and then playing some exhibitions,” he told PA news agency.

“All I can say is it’s a really different format, different situation playing exhibitions than the official tournaments, having 15, 16 days in row, having such a high focus and demanding physically.

“That’s why, because we’re just having fun for one or two days and playing some tennis, and I think that’s great, and I think that’s why we choose sometimes the exhibitions.

“Obviously, I understand (the criticism), but sometimes the people don’t understand us, our opinions. When I see a lot of people complaining about how we are defending the exhibitions, I don’t understand them because, as I said, it’s not really demanding mentally (compared to) when we’re having such long events like two weeks or two-and-a-half weeks. It’s really tough.”

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