Spain's Carlos Alcaraz revealed on Monday that the record prize money at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia earlier this month motivated his participation in the tournament as he gears up for the Paris Masters.
In contrast, Italian rival Jannik Sinner downplayed previous suggestions that he entered the exhibition event for financial gain, insisting he traveled to Riyadh for the competitive challenge.
Nevertheless, Alcaraz admitted that the financial incentive was a factor, as he pocketed $1.5 million over just four days in mid-October.
"I love playing tennis. Most of the time, I don't think about the money. I just play for love or for fun. But you have to be realistic. You have to think that you want to earn money, you know, and that's it," Alcaraz told reporters on Monday.
"In Arabia is the highest prize money ever in history, so that was a good motivation, at least for me."
The Spaniard has not experienced much success at the Paris Masters in recent years, with a quarterfinal appearance being his best result. Alcaraz captured the French Open and Wimbledon titles this year but said the season has taken its toll.
"I haven't played good tennis here in this tournament. Probably at the end of the year, I have been tired, or, as I said last year, I had to understand that the season still goes on after September," he said.
"The calendar is super tight and super demanding. Coming to the last tournament of the year, I have probably been tired last year and didn't play as well as I wanted, but coming into this year, I think I'm feeling different."
The top seeds begin their campaigns on Tuesday, while some matches started earlier on Monday.
Greek 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas rallied to beat Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 64, while France's Adrian Mannarino shocked American 11th seed Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5.
Alcaraz will play Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the round of 32 on Tuesday.
The Paris indoor tournament runs until Nov. 3.
