World No. 1 Jannik Sinner backed up his ranking and will take home the biggest purse in sports history after winning the 6 Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to capture $6 million prize.

In the third-place match, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6(5) in the final match of their storied rivalry. Nadal is set to retire at next month’s Davis Cup finals in Spain.

All six players in the event were guaranteed a prize money of $1.5 million for appearing.

Although none of the matches count on the ATP Tour, Sinner’s win snapped a three-match winning streak for Alcaraz. The Spaniard had beaten Sinner in the recent Beijing final and earlier this year in the French Open semifinals.

“We try to push ourselves to the limit,” said Sinner, who has won seven tournaments this year, including the Australian Open and U.S. Open. “I wake up in the morning trying to understand the ways to beat him. These kind of rivalries and players push us to our 100% limit. I’m happy about this today. But the reason we came here was to show all of you what tennis is about. It can be long sometimes, like today. But we just try our best. Hopefully you enjoyed the show.”

Sinner led 4-1 in the first set but was not able to hold the lead.

With Sinner serving at 5-6 in the first-set tiebreak, he sailed a backhand long, giving Alcaraz the set.

The Italian then gained another early break for 2-1 in the second set and went on to win it.

In the decisive third, Alcaraz was serving at 3-4, 15-40 when he double-faulted to give Sinner a 5-3 lead. He held at love and the two men embraced at net.

Asked about the future of the rivalry in the next 10 years, Alcaraz said: “I will practice and try as hard as I can. I’m sure Jannik is gonna be there. I’ll try to do my best every day during the years. Hopefully it makes this rivalry better and better over the years. I want to say I’m grateful to have him around on tour. Thanks to him I push myself to the limit. I give my 100% every day to be a better player. It’s a pleasure every time I share the court with him. Sometimes it’s tough to find the joy. But it’s great every time I face him.”

Djokovic topped Nadal in the third-place match.

“I don’t know where to start with Rafa,” Djokovic said post-match. “An amazing career. I could speak all night. It has been an honor to share the court with you.

“I go back to the very first match we played and who would know we would be standing here almost 20 years later, playing 60 times. I have the utmost respect for you. Incredible athlete, incredible person.

“The rivalry has been incredible, very intense, so I hope we will have the chance to sit on the bench somewhere, have a drink and reflect.

“I know how much sacrifice [there has been]. It is an emotional day, so don’t leave tennis, man! Stay with us! You have left an amazing legacy.”

Nadal, who will retire at next month’s Davis Cup finals, was presented with a golden racquet by tournament organizers

“It has been a dream come true to be able to play for almost 20 years being competitive, having the chance to play in the best places in the world, which I watched on TV as a kid,” he said. “I cannot thank enough the support and love I have received all around. There was an amazing journey [at] every single tournament over the years.

“I feel very fortunate to be a tennis player.”

The event marked the latest move into tennis for Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the WTA Finals in two weeks in Riyadh and the Next Gen ATP Finals for top 21-and-under players in Jeddah through 2027.

There has been discussion about a combined 1000-level men’s and women’s event in Saudi Arabia in January or February around the Australian Open, but nothing is imminent, according to The Athletic.

World No. 8 Casper Ruud said it’s “inevitable” that Saudi Arabia will be “big in tennis” in the future.

“I am sure it will be more and more in the future, and there are also a lot of rumors on the ATP tour if there is going to be an extra tournament in Saudi Arabia,” Ruud said per spilxperte. “I have chosen not to go so far, but it seems to me that it is inevitable, that they will somehow be big in tennis in the future and they already have the Next Gen Finals, so let’s see what the future brings.”

Tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova objected to playing in Saudi Arabia because of the country’s history of human rights violations and treatment of women and homosexuals.

Saudi Arabia has also made inroads in football, boxing and golf, and former world No. 1 John McEnroe has called it a slippery slope for tennis.

“Personally, I disagree with it completely, with the golf and the tennis,” he said on a recent ESPN conference call. “The ladies are going to play the WTA Finals there? Are you kidding me? Because they treat women so well? That part is to me laughable.

“At the same time, which is also laughable, is the people that can criticize tennis players or golfers for doing something that virtually every business and the government do, which is deal with Saudi Arabia.”