Alexander Zverev was beaten in straight sets by Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the Six Kings Grand Slam in Saudi Arabia, but will still earn a huge payday for his appearance
Alexander Zverev suffered an early exit at the Six Kings Grand Slam in Saudi Arabia, losing 6-3, 6-4 to Taylor Fritz, but he’ll still pocket a hefty appearance fee. The exhibition tournament, held over three days in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, features some of tennis’ biggest stars including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas – alongside Zverev and Fritz.
Each player is guaranteed a $1.5 million (£1,120,830) appearance fee just for stepping on to the court. The champion is also set to walk away with a whopping $4.5 million (£3.36 million). Zverev’s match against Fritz was over in a flash, with the American clinching victory in straight sets in just 59 minutes.
Given Zverev’s appearance fee, that equates to £18,997 for every minute he spent on court. Fritz’s reward for his win is a semi-final showdown with world No.1 Alcaraz, who along with Djokovic, received a bye straight into the semi-finals.
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This heavy-handed reverse for Zverev follows a disappointing performance at the Shanghai Masters, where he bowed out in the round of 32 after losing in three sets to finalist Arthur Rinderknech. Last year’s Six King’s Grand Slam saw Sinner take the crown, defeating Alcaraz in the final.
Sinner has secured a spot in this year’s semi-final with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Stefanos Tsitsipas. He will face off against Djokovic in the final four, with the victor set to meet either Alcaraz or Fritz in Saturday’s final.
There has been some criticism over players competing in exhibition tournaments, given the hectic schedule. But Alcaraz has defended the decision.
“All I can say is that it’s a really different format, different situation playing exhibitions than the official tournaments, having 15, 16 days in row, having such a high focus and demanding physically.
“That’s why, because we’re just having fun for one or two days and playing some tennis and I think that’s great, and I think that’s why we choose sometimes the exhibitions.
“Obviously I understand [the criticism], but sometimes the people don’t understand us, our opinions. When I see a lot of people complaining about how we are defending the exhibitions, I don’t understand them because, as I said, it’s not really demanding mentally [compared to] when we’re having such long events – like two weeks or two-and-a-half weeks. It’s really tough.”
Alcaraz has also admitted that he’s still not 100 per cent after suffering an injury in Tokyo last month. “Everything’s okay and I’ve been recovering the ankle as much, and as good, as I can,” he said.
“I don’t feel, I would say, 100 per cent, the doubts are there thinking about it a little bit when I’m moving on court, but I think it has improved a lot and I’m going to compete and perform well here in the Six Kings Slam.”