Novak Djokovic has claimed that he sees a lot of himself in Jannik Sinner. The Serbian’s comments arrive after some fans feared there was a feud brewing between the two tennis titans following comments made by Djokovic in a quick quiz posted on social media.
However, speaking at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 24-time Grand Slam champion paid the highest tribute to the 24-year-old Italian, demonstrating that he views Sinner in the highest regard. Asked which player he sees himself in, Djokovic replied: “Sinner, I think it’s obvious.” He added: “I think we both try and smack the ball as hard as you can and move well. [He’s] skinny like I am and plays the game to a perfection in terms of strategy and he tries to be an all round player who plays every shot in the game. So yeah, I think that resembles me and in my best days.”
Djokovic’s glowing appraisal of the Wimbledon champion comes months after many tennis fans were convinced that the Serbian had intentionally shaded Sinner. Back in January, during an interview with GQ Magazine, Djokovic was prompted to describe his fellow competitors in a single word.
Asked about Rafael Nadal he said “tenacity”, while he commented “elegance” when Roger Federer’s name came up. As the conversation pivoted to his current rivals, Djokovic said “charisma” for Carlos Alcaraz.
However, when asked about Sinner, Djokovic’s response was simply, “skiing”, with Sinner well known for enjoying the sport as a hobby. Ahead of the Australian Open at the turn of 2025, Djokovic attempted to play down his comment.
“Yes, I’ve seen it on social media that it’s being made into some kind of drama or a story, like I humiliated him or I’ve intentionally shown disrespect towards him. That’s ridiculous,” Djokovic said.
He continued: “It was one of those quiz type of interviews where you have to think of something in a second. Sinner’s name came up and I had this image in my head of him skiing. I saw he was skiing somewhere.
“Also, the two of us talk about skiing always, how we’re going to ski together, et cetera. That’s why I said ‘skiing’, not because I don’t respect his achievements in tennis, on the contrary.”
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Sinner will now face Djokovic at the Six Kings Slam exhibition after the Italian beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 6-3. Five of the world’s top-10 men’s players will be in action over three days, with Sinner the defending champion.
Sinner has beaten Djokovic in their last five matches, including in the Wimbledon semi-final this summer. Djokovic’s last win over the four-time Grand Slam champion came back in 2023.