Jannik Sinner has been handed an early setback as he looks to defend his Six Kings Slam title in Saudi Arabia.
The exhibition tournament, which is part of Riyadh Season, will return for its second edition on Wednesday, bringing together some of the world's biggest tennis stars.
Sinner claimed the title last year, coming from a set down to defeat his rival Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 6-3 6-3 in last year's inaugural edition.
The two have since gone on to dominate men's tennis and have between them won all four Grand Slam titles this year.
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For that reason, many fans expect another showdown between the pair in Friday's final.
However, Sinner's path to the final has become far more difficult after he was not given a seeding for the competition, despite winning last year's competition.
Both Alcaraz and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic have been seeded, which means they receive byes straight through to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Sinner, will have to come through a quarter-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In the other half of the draw, Alexander Zverev will play Taylor Fritz, before the winner will take on Alcaraz in the semi-finals.
The decision to not seed Sinner has left many tennis fans confused on social media over how the seeding was decided.
On X, one fan @LvMattherhon wrote: "This is crazy; how does Carlos have a bye, and Jannik doesn't."
Some have speculated that the seeds may have been determined based on the number of Grand Slams won.
Djokovic with 24, takes one spot, while Alcaraz's six titles put him ahead of Sinner, who has four for Sinner.
As a result, Alcaraz will head to the competition as the slight favourite, especially with his extra rest before the semi-finals.
He also chose to skip the Shanghai Masters, while both Sinner and Djokovic played in China and struggled in tough weather conditions.
Sinner was forced to retire from his round of 32 match, while Djokovic reached the semi-finals, but also struggled in the earlier rounds.
Fritz and Zverev are the most likely to upset the odds, but they will take each other on in the quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas, who is currently ranked 24th in the world, will need to be at his very best to overcome Sinner.
The tournament also carries a massive financial incentive, with a total prize fund of $13.5million, which is the same as last year.
All of the players will receive a $1.5million participation fee, while the winner will take home an additional $4.5 million.
Topics: Jannik Sinner, Tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Saudi Arabia
James Taylor