Daniil Medvedev was convincingly swept aside by Jannik Sinner at the exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia at the Six Kings Slam. The 6-0, 6-3 scoreline saw the Russian lose in just 68 minutes in the quarterfinals.
Bitter pill of losing to a fellow top-10 player was probably softened by the hefty pay cheque. A pay cheque of a staggering $1.5 million would have possibly improved the mood.
The Russian tennis star faced World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Six Kings Slam. To everyone’s astonishment, Sinner dominated Medvedev with utter ease and won in straight sets.
Even though he lost, Medvedev will return from the exhibition tournament in Asia with a guaranteed payout of $1.5 million, the minimum amount awarded to all participants by the organisers.
If you're one to do the numbers, that is $21,379 per minute or $362 per second.
Remarkably, it is in sharp contrast to 2021 US Open champion's earnings at the ITF level 13 years ago.
In 2011, Medvedev had posted on social media when he had collected $450 and $150 for his results on the ITF level.
Medvedev has spoken about the challenge of earning money in tennis amid varied tax structures for different countries and the requisite expenses of a top player.
“My career prize money is $16 million, but it’s not that simple. First of all, at each tournament where you earn prize money you have to pay income tax. In Russia, it’s 13% for residents, 30% for non-residents. In France it’s 15%, in America it’s 30%, and so on.”
He also said prize money is used on travel, salaries, and other aspects related to your team leaving behind very little for the players.
The 28-year-old player came into the tournament in Saudi Arabia after a semi-final appearance in Beijing and quarter-finals in Shanghai.
