After Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Bublik disagrees with Jannik Sinner's bold Six Kings Slam money claim as he takes subtle dig at Italian
Jannik Sinner stirred up debate with his recent comment that money isn’t a factor for him at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Carlos Alcaraz was quick to share a different perspective and now Alexander Bublik has also weighed in, taking a subtle dig at the Italian.
Sinner emerged as the winner of the exhibition event in the Gulf, taking home an impressive $7.5M paycheck. Other participants, including Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, and Holger Rune, each earned at least $1.5M.
Alcaraz was the first to disagree with his rival Sinner's claim, openly stating that if he said he played in the event purely for fun and not for the money, he’d be lying. Bublik echoed this sentiment following his loss to Holger Rune at the Paris Masters on Tuesday, October 30.
During an interview on Tennis Channel with Prakash Amritraj, the Kazakh player was asked about his earnings this season. He interrupted Amritraj and took a jab at Jannik Sinner, saying:
"Like Jannik Sinner said money is not the thing?"
Alcaraz had told the media:
"Well, I mean, if I say (smiling), I mean, I went there just for fun or to play and forget the money, I'm gonna lie. That's obviously -- I mean, every person work for that, as well. You know, that's how life is about."
"You know, I love playing tennis. You know, 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. In Arabia is the most highest prize money ever in the history, so that was a good motivation, at least for me," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz receives backing from tennis insider following disagreement with Jannik Sinner
Eurosport journalist Guido Monaco discussed Carlos Alcaraz's differing remarks on Jannik Sinner's money claim at the Six Kings Slam.
During a recent episode of TennisMania, Monaco noted that while he felt the truth likely lies somewhere between the two players' perspectives, he preferred Alcaraz's response.
"The truth is in the middle, but I prefer Alcaraz's statement which I find more genuine and realistic. You don't always have to answer questions by answering what they want to hear," Monaco said.
"It's true that a lot of money allows you to build a competitive and cutting-edge team around yourself. It's not the same thing that the 30th, 40th, 50th in the world can afford. Money counts, even to stay at that level," he added.
Sinner withdrew from the Paris Masters, while Bublik was eliminated in the second round. Alcaraz has advanced to the third round, where he will face Frenchman Ugo Humbert.