Day One of the 2025 Six Kings Slam featured Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz on the hard courts of Riyadh. The American defeated Zverev in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Both players entered Riyadh after third-round exits in the Shanghai Masters. While Zverev was eliminated by Arthur Rindeknech, Fritz bowed out to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets.
The Six Kings Slam has created a bit of buzz with its extravagant prize money structure this year. Despite losing the first match in Riyadh, Zverev took home a hefty prize cheque of $1.5 million.
Fans were quick to react to his lackluster performance and earnings in the Six Kings Slam.
"Easiest $1.5 million ever for Zverev," One user saidAnother highlighted the lack of entertainment value while watching the Six Kings Slam.
"Thinking of all the locals watching six kings slam on Netflix and being bored to death with Taylor Fritz and Zverev .... I promise tennis is better than this".This user criticized the unusual camera angles:
"Is it me or everyone else feels #SixKingsSlam is boring and lame with weird camera angles."Another fan praised Taylor Fritz for putting up a serious performance against Zverev:
"I thought an exhibition players relax and don't play hard. Taylor looks like he takes match seriously even though win doesn't count".This user wasn't too surprised by the Germans' poor performance in Riyadh.
"Zverev is used to this now... this time he got paid hell of a lot to lose too".Another fan felt that Zverev doesn't deserve a spot in the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
"Zverev should be nowhere near the Top 10, never mind Top 5"."It's still tennis, great players, big matches, and fans who love to see it" - Taylor Fritz defends his participation in the Six Kings Slam 2025

Taylor Fritz secured his seventh consecutive victory over Alexander Zverev. However, the latest in the Six Kings Slam won't be included in the official records of the ATP tour.
The American will now face Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in the final. He recently lost to the Spaniard in Tokyo in straight sets.
The winner of the Six Kings Slam will receive $4.5 million in prize money this year. Fritz recently defended his participation in the exhibition event and said that it was still a tournament that included great tennis players.
"It's still tennis - great players, big matches, and fans who love to see it. That's what matters. It's going to be live on Netflix, and you'll get not just tennis fans but a different audience too. That's huge for the sport," Taylor Friz said via MarcaHe also urged the organizers of the ATP tour to work on a short-form tournament format.
"I'd love for them to show me a tournament where you can go play three matches -- well, for the top two seeds, two matches -- and potentially make $6 million," Fritz said during a video interview from Riyadh on Tuesday. "I'd love to hear that from them."The American lost the Japan Open final against Alcaraz but defeated him in the Laver Cup this year. He will be eager to present a stern challenge in the semifinals of the Six Kings Slam.
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Edited by Aman Mohamed