“Jannik Sinner expresses admiration for Novak Djokovic, acknowledging him as the pinnacle of the sport, as they gear up for a highly anticipated showdown at the ATP Finals. Despite this acknowledgment, Sinner eagerly anticipates the competitive encounter.”
For many, with his incredible balance and clean baseline hitting, Sinner is the closest thing tennis has seen to Djokovic in recent years.
There is probably some merit to that argument, and Sinner has caused the Serbian problems despite losing all three of their clashes so far.
Sinner will get another chance when they meet in the round robin stage of the ATP Finals, though, and he says he feels closer than ever to beating him.
“You find yourself in front of someone who has won 24 Slams, three out of four this year alone,” Sinner said. “In terms of results, he is the best that this sport has ever had.
“I hope to meet him as soon as possible. These are the important matches for my growth (as a player), the ones for which I say: I win or I learn. Djokovic will tell me where I am.”
“I felt closer this year in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, despite losing in three sets, than last year in the quarterfinals, when we fought for five,” he explained.
“I can’t wait. These are the matches I train for every day, the ones that fill me with pressure.”
Sinner will also be hoping that playing Djokovic in front of his home crowd in Italy, something he has never done before, will help him.
“Playing in Turin means a lot to me because I will live the experience with the home crowd,” he said.
“It’s a new mentality that I’m starting to get into. I like it when people get on my bandwagon. This is also why I want to do well in the Finals.”
ATP Finals draw – Who else does Novak Djokovic play?
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Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner have been drawn together on Green Group alongside former winner Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune.
It’s certainly not an easy group but would you really expect one at the ATP Finals?
If anything, though, it probably is slightly kinder than the Red Group, which has debutant Carlos Alcaraz having to deal with two former champions in Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. Andrey Rublev completes the line-up in Red Group.
