INCHEON: Carlos Alcaraz beat his great rival Jannik Sinner 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) to win their Hyundai Card Super Match exhibition event in South Korea on Saturday that marked the start of the season for the world’s top two men’s tennis players.

There was little to separate the two during the entertaining clash, with world number one Alcaraz squeaking ahead towards the end of both sets to clinch the win.

“We all need the support from the fans. So having the support and feeling the love from the people was necessary for me to perform my best and play great tennis like I did today,” Alcaraz said.

In their press conference on Friday, Sinner said the match would not be a true indicator of their levels heading into the new season and that both players would focus on entertaining spectators.

It was a promise they lived up to, as the largely light-hearted hit-around unsurprisingly lacked the intensity that has characterised their previous meetings on the sport’s biggest stages.

The pair mixed up their game with an array of trick shots and engaged in a number of memorable rallies to keep fans at the Inspire Arena on the edge of their seats, with Sinner allowing a child in the stands to play a point for him in the second set.

It was an entertaining display from both players, who are no strangers to putting on a show at exhibition events.

Sinner and Alcaraz competed in the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Riyadh in 2024 and 2025, with the Italian winning in the final on both occasions.

Alcaraz has defended his decision to play in such lucrative events despite previously saying he would consider skipping ATP Tour events to prioritise his health in a crowded schedule, saying they provide relief from the grind of the tour.

The Spaniard has also admitted there are considerable financial incentives to playing exhibition events, saying last year the prize money on offer was a motivation for playing in the Six Kings Slam.

With the exhibition match wrapped up, the serious business starts for Sinner and Alcaraz, who will now shift their attention to the Australian Open, which begins at Melbourne Park on January 18.

Neither will play competitively until the Australian Open and the two have much at stake in the season’s opening Grand Slam with Sinner looking to win a third straight Australian Open title and Alcaraz chasing a career Grand Slam.

“Jannik, we finished the season playing together. We started the season playing together,” Alcaraz said on court afterwards. “So hopefully this season is going to be such a good one like last year. You deserve the best.”

Alcaraz and Sinner have taken a stranglehold on men’s tennis over the past two years, splitting all four Grand Slam titles between them in 2024 and 2025.

Arch competitors on the court but good friends off it, Alcaraz has the upper hand in their rivalry and came into the exhibition boasting a 10-6 head-to-head record.

“It was a close match so a little bit of tension also,” said Sinner. “We were just happy to be here for the first time, seeing something new. It made us feel at home and we felt it on the court.

“Obviously now the main goal is in Australia. At the end of the day, exhibition matches are different, you are a bit more relaxed and also entertaining the crowd a little bit more with different shots and different actions on court.”

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2026