By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Friday, October 20, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will earn profitable paydays—and take in some criticism—squaring off a December exhibition.
In a rematch of the Wimbledon closing, Alcaraz will face Djokovic within the Riyadh Season Tennis Cup, an exhibition set for December twenty seventh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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The pair be a part of Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur, who will face off on December twenty eighth.
Each matches will likely be held in Kingdom Enviornment, which was constructed and furnished with state-of-the-art expertise in simply 60 days. With a capability to accommodate over 40,000 guests, the venue has been purposefully designed to host worldwide occasions, together with the opening evening’s worldwide boxing bout in the course of the Riyadh Season on October 28.
Some skeptics query why Djokovic, who has been essential of the ATP increasing some Masters 1000 occasions, would play an exhibition simply weeks forward of his Australian Open title protection. Others say Alcaraz, who opted out of Spain’s latest Davis Cup competitors citing the size of the schedule, is placing his physique in danger a yr after he missed the 2023 Australian Open resulting from harm.
Saudi Arabia continues to spend money on tennis and negotiate for Tour occasions. Some champions level to the nation’s human rights violations, the actual fact identical intercourse exercise for each women and men is prohibited in Saudi Arabia and the blow again golf has incurred with its partnership with the Kingdom as causes tennis shouldn’t do enterprise with the nation.
“I suppose it is solely pure. Sadly it is like cash talks,” John McEnroe mentioned. “That is all that issues. However I do not suppose that is all that issues.
“Finally you get purchased out. It is like sooner or later somebody will supply an excessive amount of.
“I do not know why within the hell tennis would abruptly be, Let’s discuss to the Saudis after the debacle that you simply’re watching in golf. To me it is comical that it is even being introduced up proper now. A pun: Par for the course.”
Picture credit score: Matthew Stockman/Getty