Nadal and Alcaraz, semifinal at the Six Kings Slam

The friendly tournament in Riyadh offers one last confrontation between the two Spaniards

The Murcian debuted this Wednesday, beating Rune

The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal will face his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz this Thursday in the semifinal of the Six Kings Slam, a friendly tournament held in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a possible penultimate ‘dance’ before the Davis Cup.

After announcing his retirement for this season last week, with the Davis Cup Final 8 taking place next month in Malaga, Nadal still has this event on his agenda, which marks his return to the courts more than two months later. The man from Manacor competed for the last time precisely alongside Alcaraz, in the doubles at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The historic couple that the two formed, especially for Spanish tennis, which saw the legend and the player called to take the baton together, fell in the quarterfinals in their first tournament together. Now, both will meet in the semifinals of this tournament that has united four of the five best players in the world ranking.

In addition to the Spaniards, the world number one, the Italian Jannik Sinner, the Serbian Novak Djokovic, the Russian Daniil Medveded and the Dane Holger Rune, who Alcaraz beat this Wednesday in his debut, are in Riyadh. The Murcian, who was champion in Beijing two weeks ago, easily beat Rune (6-4, 6-2), winning all his points with the first serve. In the other match, Sinner defeated Medveded (6-0, 6-3) and will play against Djokovic.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz will have the opportunity to face Nadal one last time, although the Balearic Islands’ level is unknown. The man from Manacor’s farewell season has not been what he dreamed of, with more physical problems and the difficulty of finding rhythm and level in the few games played. All in all, for both it is a gift, before defending Spain in Malaga from November 19 to 24.