Jannik Sinner’s motivation to play in the Six Kings Slam last year was the opportunity of the world’s top six players trying to beat each other. However, he did receive another six million reasons by winning the crown. Fast forward to now, while the competitive fire in him hasn’t burned out yet, he is more willing to accept the second reason for his participation this year.

The world No. 2 returned to Riyadh this year to defend his throne in Netflix’s marquee event. Ahead of his campaign, Sinner engaged in a pre-event press conference where he shared his perspective on the lucrative prize money.

“The money is nothing we’re trying to hide,” the 24-year-old told the reporters on Tuesday. “We know how much is at stake here, and it would be a lie if I told you it wasn’t a motivation. Every player here will try to win as many matches as possible. It’s like any other exhibition — except here there is a bit more motivation.”

Needless to say, he didn’t respond to the noise.

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But interestingly enough, Sinner had to quit his Shanghai Masters campaign just about two weeks ago because of severe leg cramps. However, he assured everyone that he had taken some rest and was back to defend his crown and be prepared for the rest of the season.

What was also intriguing was that many players have previously complained about the tennis season being too long. Sinner is no stranger to lack of rest either. Before the Shanghai Masters, he was forced to retire early in the Cincinnati Open as well in the finals against his rival Carlos Alcaraz. However, the big bucks certainly are a big part of why the selected top players are more than happy to play in Riyadh.

Update: Sinner has eased past veteran Novak Djokovic and set his fifth finals meeting with Carlos Alcaraz for the big prize money.

And it’s not just the Italian who has confessed that. In fact, Taylor Fritz has also shared the same motivation.

“I’d love for them to show me a tournament where you can go play three matches — well, for the top two seeds, two matches — and potentially make $6 million,” Fritz told the reporters on Tuesday. “I’d love to hear that from them.”

The Six Kings Slam is a part of Saudi Arabia’s attempt to venture into the world of tennis and vice versa. In the event, six top players, each receiving $1.5 million as appearance fees, are selected to compete in an elimination format. The top two seeds get a bye until the second round. This year, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz received byes for the first round.

With six million reasons on the line, all players are set to put up their best show in the three-day event. Sinner has already kicked off his campaign on a solid note in Riyadh.

Jannik Sinner makes a stellar start to defend his Six Kings Slam crown

On Wednesday night, inside the Kingdom Arena, Sinner began his Six Kings Slam journey with an easy win. Playing against Greek ATP pro Stefanos Tsitsipas, he easily snatched a 6-2, 6-3 victory to advance to the semifinals. “I feel like he was a bit higher than me on certain occasions,” Tsitsipas told Arab News on October 16. “He was able to come up with winners in moments that I wasn’t the first.”

Now that the Italian has cleared the first hurdle, only two steps remain for him to reclaim the trophy. In the next match on Thursday, he will face 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic. When the two met during the 2024 edition, Sinner bested him in a three-set thriller with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-7, 6-4.

This week, he will look to replicate that performance once again. On the other hand, Djokovic will try to exact his revenge. The Serbian has lost both his encounters this season against Sinner. The latter outperformed him in Paris, followed by London during the semis. It will be intriguing to see if Djokovic can settle the score in Riyadh.