Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz revealed on Monday that the report prize cash on the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia earlier this month motivated his participation within the match as he gears up for the Paris Masters.
In distinction, Italian rival Jannik Sinner downplayed earlier solutions that he entered the exhibition occasion for monetary acquire, insisting he traveled to Riyadh for the aggressive problem.
Nevertheless, Alcaraz admitted that the monetary incentive was an element, as he pocketed $1.5 million over simply 4 days in mid-October.
“I love playing tennis. 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,” Alcaraz instructed reporters on Monday.
“In Arabia is the highest prize money ever in history, so that was a good motivation, at least for me.”
The Spaniard has not skilled a lot success on the Paris Masters lately, with a quarterfinal look being his finest outcome. Alcaraz captured the French Open and Wimbledon titles this yr however stated the season has taken its toll.
“I haven’t played good tennis here in this tournament. Probably at the end of the year, I have been tired, or, as I said last year, I had to understand that the season still goes on after September,” he stated.
“The calendar is super tight and super demanding. Coming to the last tournament of the year, I have probably been tired last year and didn’t play as well as I wanted, but coming into this year, I think I’m feeling different.”
The high seeds start their campaigns on Tuesday, whereas some matches began earlier on Monday.
Greek tenth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas rallied to beat Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 within the spherical of 64, whereas France’s Adrian Mannarino shocked American eleventh seed Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5.
Alcaraz will play Chilean Nicolas Jarry within the spherical of 32 on Tuesday.
The Paris indoor match runs till Nov. 3.
Source: www.dailysabah.com