Rafael Nadal suffered defeat to Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam in one of his final-ever matches before retirement.
Nadal took on Alcaraz in the Six Kings Slam semi-finals, having been given a bye in the quarter-finals of the inaugural event.
Alcaraz meanwhile made it past Holger Rune in the quarter-finals in Riyadh, which is playing host to the lucrative tournament.
Daniil Medvedev earned $1.5million for his appearance, with the Russian losing his quarter-final meeting with Jannik Sinner in just 68 minutes.
Sinner went on to beat Novak Djokovic, with the world number one setting up a Six Kings Slam final clash with Alcaraz.
Carlos Moya makes Carlos Alcaraz prediction
And despite his semi-final loss to his compatriot, Nadal still has a match to play in Saudi Arabia, battling it out with Djokovic for third place.
Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya will now be busy preparing the veteran for another clash with his long-term rival, but he has taken time to heap praise on Alcaraz after he reached another final.
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Discussing Alcaraz on Sky Sports Tennis, Moya said: “Not about his future, about his present! He is already a great player and has won four Grand Slams so far.
“I think he is going to have a great career ahead of him. It is great to watch him play, he goes for every single shot. It’s fun to watch him and I wish him the best, obviously.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to meet in Six Kings Slam final
It remains to be seen just how far Alcaraz will go in tennis, with the Spaniard having already enjoyed so much success in his brief career so far.
Aged just 21, he has four Grand Slam titles to his name, having also reached the number one spot in the world rankings.
Alcaraz has 16 ATP Tour-level tour titles overall, four of which have come this season, with his overall win-loss record sitting at 206-53.
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The Six Kings Slam may not give ATP ranking points, but silverware and prize money are on offer, and both Alcaraz and Sinner will undoubtedly be going all out for the win.
There is also the small matter of bragging rights on the line, with neither player wanting to lose momentum in their superb rivalry so far.
The same situation will be at play in the third-place playoff between Nadal and Djokovic, with the former certain to want to get one over the latter one last time before retirement.
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