Carlos Alcaraz will face Jannik Sinner in the final of the 6 Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, having overcome an emotional Rafael Nadal in his penultimate tournament before retirement.
Nadal drew plenty of admiration from the crowd in Riyadh and was applauded off after a 6-3 6-3 defeat, which ensured he will face great rival Novak Djokovic in a third-place play-off on Saturday.
Alcaraz set the tone immediately by breaking to love in the very first game of the encounter, though Nadal found his feet to keep things competitive in the opening set.
Alcaraz hit a neat forehand to bring an end to a mammoth four-deuce game on Nadal's serve to take the opener, but the 22-time grand slam champion refused to go down without a fight, holding to love at the start of the second set.
However, Alcaraz smashed a magnificent forehand down the line to go a break up at the second opportunity, and despite Nadal producing some memorable moments – including one cultured backhand at the net – he held firm for a 78-minute victory.
Nadal will team up with Alcaraz to represent Spain at the Davis Cup next week, at the final tournament of his glittering career.
Data Debrief: Headline clashes teed up
Sinner's victory means he will face Alcaraz for the fourth time this year in Saturday's final, with the Spaniard having won all three previous meetings in 2024.
Nadal, meanwhile, is set for one last dance with Djokovic, who he has faced 60 times in official tour-level competitions, winning 29 times and losing on 31 occasions.
Sinner repeats Djokovic success to reach 6 Kings Slam final
Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic for the second time in five days to tee up a final clash with either Carlos Alcaraz or Rafael Nadal at the 6 Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia.
Sinner, who beat Djokovic en route to his triumph at the Shanghai Masters last week, overcame the 24-time grand slam champion again in three sets on Thursday.
The world number one picked up where he left off in Shanghai with a break in the very first game of the encounter, then another break seven games later saw him seize the opener in emphatic fashion, only dropping two points on his own serve.
Djokovic roared back in the second set, though, recovering from another early break before producing a flawless tie-break performance to level things up.
The decider was a far more even affair, Djokovic forcing two break points at 3-2 up before the momentum switched, with Sinner getting the better of the 37-year-old through three straight breaks of serve to wrap up a two-hour, 27-minute victory.
Data Debrief: Sinner maintains Djokovic streak
While Thursday's win at the inaugural exhibition event in Riyadh will not count towards the pair's official ATP Tour head-to-head record, Sinner maintained his fine recent form against Djokovic.
He has now won his last four matches against Djokovic overall, and five of his last six.
Swiatek 'excited' after appointment of Osaka's former coach Fissette
Iga Swiatek has confirmed Wim Fissette as her new coach as she continues to prepare for next month's WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Swiatek parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski earlier this month after three successful years with the Pole, which included four grand slam titles.
Fissette has previously coached five world number one players.
The 44-year-old had stints with Kim Clijsters, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and, most recently, Naomi Osaka.
Fissette has coached Osaka in two matches against Swiatek, with the Japanese losing in the 2022 Miami final and in the second round at Roland-Garros earlier this year.
"I'm happy to announce that Wim Fissette is joining our team," Swiatek posted on social media.
"As you know, I'm preparing for the WTA Finals but my perspective is, as always, long-term, not short-term.
"I said many times that my career is a marathon for me, not a sprint and I'm working, operating and making decisions with this approach.
"I want to say that I'm very excited and looking forward to working with Wim. He seems to have a great attitude, vision and huge experience at a very top level of tennis.
"It's always crucial to try and get to know each other better but we're off to a good start and I can't wait to compete soon."
Swiatek has not competed since her quarter-final loss to Jessica Pegula at the US Open, pulling out of the China Open, where she was defending champion, due to "personal reasons".
She now faces a battle to remain at the summit of the WTA rankings, having seen Aryna Sabalenka close the gap following her successes at the US and Wuhan Open.
Alcaraz books Nadal semi-final showdown at 6 Kings Slam after roaring past Rune
Carlos Alcaraz set up a mouth-watering 6 Kings Slam semi-final showdown with Rafael Nadal after a straight-sets win over Holger Rune.
The winner of this season's French Open and Wimbledon, the Spaniard took just 72 minutes to wrap up a commanding 6-4 6-2 victory in Riyadh.
The first set was neck and neck until game nine, when Alcaraz broke before holding to 15 to move halfway towards victory.
The four-time major champion then broke in games three and five to take complete control of the second set, which he eventually wrapped up to book what could be one last showdown with the retiring Nadal.
"I tried to adapt my game a bit to the conditions on the court," he said during his on-court post-match interview.
"At the beginning, I struggled a little bit with my returns. I had to find the solutions, but once I did, I started to play better and better, and he struggled a little bit more than me."
On the prospect of facing Nadal, he added: "Since I started playing tennis, I have watched his matches. He's still my idol. He's been a really important person for my life and my career. He was one of the reasons I wanted to become a professional tennis player.
"Playing against him once again is going to be tough for me, but I'm going to try and enjoy it. I'm going to go full power; he's going to be stronger than ever before."
Data Debrief: Solid service from Alcaraz
Alcaraz will be relishing the prospect of going head to head once more with Nadal, who he partnered in the men's doubles at the Paris Olympics.
The world number two set up the clash after a dominant display on serve. Indeed, he won all nine service games, winning 37 of 45 points, and hit six aces while not facing a single break point.
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