6 Kings Slam Riyadh Season

[jimlosaltos]

Not entirely sure what to think of this big money exo. Beginning of LIV Golf - Tennis Edition? Just an expensive, very large county fair?

Rafa withdrew from Laver Cup in Berlin today, so his next scheduled event is the 6 Kings Slam, which is part of Riyadh Season, Wednesday October 16, to Thursday October 17 and continue on Saturday October 19. Tickets are not yet available. And I have no idea where or if it will be broadcast.

Players include Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic,Carlos Alcaraz. Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune {which their promo incorrectly identifies as Australian)

Per Sports Business Journal, the players are getting megabuck$:

"Sources said that the prize fund for the winner is believed to “be as much as” $6M, with the six participants being guaranteed $1.5M “simply for turning up.” Briggs noted that considering the prize money for last summer’s Wimbledon stood at $2.95M for the champion, the 6 Kings Slam “represents a reshaping of the game’s economics.” The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Nadal, in particular, is “growing increasingly close” after he recently became an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation (London TELEGRAPH, 2/5).


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[jimlosaltos]

Djokovic quoted today as saying he would significantly cut back his tournament schedule ( implied for end of this year), but
will do Singapore AND this Saudi event. I guess event centimillionaires like Novak can't resist Big Oil Money

[stroke]

Djokovic quoted today as saying he would significantly cut back his tournament schedule ( implied for end of this year), but
will do Singapore AND this Saudi event. I guess event centimillionaires like Novak can't resist Big Oil Money

I was thinking he was resting up to go in as fresh as possible for the Laver Cup.

[stotty]

It looks like Novak may pass up the ATP Finals this year. It's a pretty big event so I thought he might opt to qualify for that one. It's clearly another slam or nothing at this point. I think it likely he'll retire if he has no luck in 2025. Or perhaps he'll hang around and keep playing just to cheese our Jim off...

[jimlosaltos]

It looks like Novak may pass up the ATP Finals this year. It's a pretty big event so I thought he might opt to qualify for that one. It's clearly another slam or nothing at this point. I think it likely he'll retire if he has no luck in 2025. Or perhaps he'll hang around and keep playing just to cheese our Jim off...

AAAaaarrrggghhhh ... it would be just like Djoko to do that to me

[stroke]

I actually watched a Laver Cup doubles match, Tsitsipas and Ruud vs Sheldon and Tablio. Tsitsipas and Ruud pretty much put on a clinic on how not to play doubles.

[stotty]

I don't think the Laver Cup will last to be honest. It's a daft format and I don't any of the players truly take it seriously. I never watch it. It's certainly not a patch on the Ryder Cup.

[jimlosaltos]

I don't think the Laver Cup will last to be honest. It's a daft format and I don't any of the players truly take it seriously. I never watch it. It's certainly not a patch on the Ryder Cup.

There are certainly questions post Fedal playing in the Laver Cup.

On the other hand Fed's & Godsick's Team8 is incredible. The Laver Cup sells out everywhere, despite playing sites the ATP says can't support tournaments. And, frankly, at egregiously high ticket prices.

I went to the second one, Laver Cup Chicago, where they sold out the United Center at 21,000 people. Granted, we saw Fedal doubles, sort of like ornithologists spotting a rare bird. <g>

It was fun. Much of tennis ( Cough IMG ) seems to have forgotten that tennis is entertainment. The format is great, dynamic fast moving.

As for the players not caring --- sorry but in my opinion that is 100% wrong. If you saw Fritz, Medvedev, Alcaraz jumping and screaming for their team mates today, you'd know the team format brings out something special.

And one of the absolutely highest-quality best of 3 matches I've ever seen, albeit on TV, was Fed coming from behind to beat Nick Kyrgios at the Laver Cup. Listening to Rafa coach Fed in that match was special: "He sees the ball so well. But you're ahead in rallies of 5 shots or more."

As the winners of that early round match hugged and jumped - Kyrgios sobbed in the background as ( forget who) came over to hug and console him.

Yes. They care.

P.S. I went to the same group's charity event "The Match for Africa" where they sold out 18,000 seats at the Shark Tank in San Jose. This after the ATP killed one of the longest-running tournaments in the US, supposedly because it didn't draw well enough -- and moved it to Rio. But Fed/ Godsick sold out matches such as Fed with Bill Gates vs Jack Sock with Savannah Guthrie. And it was fun.