Alcaraz on Saudi exhibition: “If I say I went there just for fun…I’m gonna lie”

Jannik Sinner may have chosen his words very carefully when claiming that his decision to play in the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia was not about the money but Carlos Alcaraz was a little more open about his reasons for making the trip after a long season.

Sinner picked up $7.5 million – the highest ever prize in tennis – as the winner of the event while Alcaraz pocketed $1.5 million just for showing up alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.

And though the Italian claimed, in an interview with Eurosport, that he played there as much to compete against the best players in the world as for the cash, Alcaraz was a little more transparent.

“Well, I mean, if I say I went there just for fun or to play and forget the money, I’m gonna lie,” the Spaniard said with a smile during his press conference at the Paris Masters on Monday. “That’s obviously — I mean, every person work for that, as well. You know, that’s how life is about.

“You know, I love playing tennis. You know, most of the time I don’t think about the money. I just play for love or for fun. But you have to be realistic. You have to think that you want to earn money, you know, and that’s it. In (Saudi) Arabia is the most highest prize money ever in the history, so that was a good motivation, at least for me.”

Sinner tows the party line

Sinner said testing himself against the world’s best players was equally motivating.

“Of course, it’s a nice prize and everything but for me, I went there because there were possibly the six best players in the world and then you can measure yourself with them,” he told Eurosport. “It was also a nice event for me. It was the first time I went to Riyadh, it was something very nice, you know, when you come back as a winner. For me, it was more that, ‘Okay, I played the matches in the right way, and this hopefully can improve me as a player also for the future.’ And that’s it.

“The money is important but not that much. I love a good life also without this money. I think it’s much more important the health I have and surrounding myself with great people, the family… then the money is just an extra.”

Alcaraz ready to improve on poor Bercy record

Alcaraz has struggled at Bercy in the past, with one quarter-final showing in three visits, something he puts down to tiredness at the end of long seasons. This year, he says, things could be different.

“I haven’t played good tennis here in this tournament,” he admitted. 2Probably at the end of the year, I have been tired, or yeah, as I said last year, I had to understand that the season is still going after September.

“And I think I did prepare really well this year. So I don’t know, you know. The calendar is super tight, super demanding, as well. So coming to the last tournament of the year, probably I have been tired the last year, didn’t play as well as I wanted, but coming to this year, I think I’m feeling different.

“I know what I have to do. I have been doing great work lately. So I think I’m ready to do good results or at least go farther than last year, that I think is not really difficult.”

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