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How Alexander Zverev earned INR 22 lakh per minute during shocking 59-minute thrashing by Taylor Fritz in Six Kings Slam
The cash-rich Six Kings Slam exhibition means that even players losing in the opening round of the tournament were due for 1.5 million US dollars in winnings.
The second edition of the Six Kings Slam began in Riyadh with a pair of quarterfinal matchups, with six players gunning for a record prize money as this exhibition event continues to hold the potential for a windfall for the best men’s tennis players in the world. American star Taylor Fritz got things going by brushing past Germany’s Alexander Zverev, taking only 59 minutes to dispatch his opponent 6-3 6-4.
Fritz has held the advantage over Zverev in the recent past, having won each of their last six meetings at the tour level. In this exhibition, Fritz might just have started out as favourite thanks to that record, and ensured he lived up to it in this event streamed on Netflix worldwide. His straight-sets victory takes him into the semifinal, where world number one Carlos Alcaraz awaits him, the Spaniard having earned a bye to the final 4.
While Zverev was bounced out in the opening round, he is still in line to receive a very solid windfall. The Six Kings Slam organisers award prize money on a rolling basis per match, which means that even the two quarterfinal losers – Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas after he was decimated by Jannik Sinner – stand to earn 1.5 million US dollars for their appearance at the tournament.
How much money did Zverev earn during his loss?
Given the speed of his loss, while Zverev will be disappointed about not reaching the semifinal stage and increasing his paycheck at this exhibition event, the German has a silver lining in that his rapid loss meant he got plenty of bang for his buck. By taking less than hour to win, Fritz ensured that Zverev walked away by winning roughly 25,400 US dollars, or 22 lakh rupees INR, per minute he spent on court.
The big-money tournament in Saudi Arabia, taking place during the Riyadh Season in the nation’s capital, is an event designed to attract the biggest stars to a country that is otherwise not a hotspot for tennis action. These big prize pools, with the victor promised a whopping 6 million US dollars, is what attracts the best names in the sport to compete in Saudi Arabia. The winner’s paycheck is a more substantial amount that winning the singles event at any grand slam tournament promises.
Fritz will face off against Alcaraz, while defending champion Sinner will play against Novak Djokovic in the other semifinal.
