Novak Djokovic forced to apologise after Six Kings exit in X-rated interview

Novak Djokovic was forced to apologise after he bowed out of the Six Kings Slam in straight sets to Jannik Sinner. The Italian, dubbed 'Djokovic 2.0', brushed aside the 38-year-old with a 6-4, 6-2 win in a semi-final that lasted just 63 minutes.

Sinner put on a clinic over the former world number one, notching 10 aces compared to the Serbian's two. He will lockhorns once again with Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday, with the two modern tennis giants serving for the $6million (£4.5m) prize cheque.

The 24-year-old looked set to wrap up the match in less than an hour but Djokovic held his serve after Sinner miscued a forehand. However, he surged through to the final, taking the final game 40-15. Addressing the crowd, Djokovic was forced to apologise after he couldn't provoke a thriller as he was dispatched in an hour.

He said: "Thank you for your support, guy. First of all thank you for coming in big numbers, Riyadh, you really love tennis and we love you guys.

"He was too good tonight and good luck in the final. It's always worth it because the love and passion for tennis is there.

"Excuse my language, it's never good when someone kicks your a*** on court but it's good I'm still able to play top level, it's a good feeling. Look, I'm trying my best.

"I'm grateful that God has granted me, there's so much to celebrate but I would like if someone could trade a younger body for a year so I could play against these guys. Jokes aside, I have the drive, I know it's becoming much more difficult to get wins over Jannik and Carlos, I'm going to keep going."

Sinner's triumph over the 24-time Grand Slam winner was the seventh straight triumph for the Italian, and the third of the 2025 calendar year. Djokovic's last win came on the hard, indoor surface, the same of the exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia, in 2023 when he won at the Nitto ATP in Turin, Italy.

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Despite approaching his 40th birthday, the tennis icon recently revealed that the likes of LeBron James, Tom Brady and Cristiano Ronaldo have provided inspiration for him to delay hanging the racket up.

"Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. I really want to see how far I can go," he said.

"If you see across all the global sports, LeBron James, he is still going strong, he is 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old - it is unbelievable. They are inspiring me as well so I want to keep going, that is one of the motivations I have."