Former tennis legend John McEnroe believes that Jannik Sinner is in the greatest possible position to defeat Novak Djokovic in a major, but he does not think anyone will be able to overcome the Serbian.
This is the latest chapter in a developing rivalry that heated up around the conclusion of the previous season, with Sinner taking on Djokovic in Melbourne.
They played three times in a short period, with Sinner winning the Davis Cup final and each winning the ATP Finals. While many believe Sinner can defeat Djokovic at Rod Laver Arena, where he has been virtually unbeatable, McEnroe is not so sure.
McEnroe expressed his thoughts in a recent interview and said: “Novak is playing incredible tennis. The key for anyone to beat him, including Sinner, is that deep down in their hearts, they have the belief that they can beat Novak. This is a mental game when you’re out there on your own. This is a physical game, yes, and you have your coach on the sidelines, but this is about believing and executing your game plan and thinking you can beat that one person on the other side of the court.”
He further said: “That is one very tough thing, as Novak Djokovic is like a human backboard and knows how to manage himself when necessary and knows how to pace himself. He’s got everything. He’s got every trick in the book. And he’s got no weaknesses. It’s an incredibly tall order to beat him in a best-of-five-sets match.”
McEnroe concluded his discussion and said: “I think Sinner is in the best position ever to do it. He’s worked hard on improving other aspects of his game: putting more on his serve, bringing his back foot up a little bit and getting more pop off it, and trying to be a little bit more unpredictable, which he’ll need to do. He goes big off the ground and he will need to be willing to come to the net on some tight points. It will be interesting to see if he’s ready to do that yet.”
Djokovic at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
Ranked world no.1, Novak has an overall 7-1 record in 2024. Novak is participating at the Australian Open where he conquered the world no.187 Dino Prizmic 6-2 6-75 6-3 6-4, the world no.43 Alexei Popyrin 6-3 4-6 7-64 6-3, the world no.32 Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 6-3 7-62, the world no.19 Adrian Mannarino 6-0 6-0 6-3 and the world no.12 Taylor Fritz 7-63 4-6 6-2 6-3.
Novak Djokovic will play the world no.4 Jannik Sinner in the semifinal on Friday at 2:30 pm on Rod Laver Arena. Their current record is 4-2 for Djokovic.
Novak won 98 titles in his career: 52 on hard courts, 19 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Djokovic is scheduled to play next in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 4th of March.
Sinner at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
Now ranked no.4 (career-high), Sinner has achieved an overall 5-0 match record in 2024. The Italian is now having a run at the Australian Open where he toppled the world no.59 Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4 7-5 6-3, the world no.161 Jesper De Jong 6-2 6-2 6-2, the world no.29 Sebastian Baez 6-0 6-1 6-3, the world no.15 Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-5 6-3 and the world no.5 Andrey Rublev 6-4 7-65 6-3.
Jannik Sinner will fight against the world no.1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinal on Friday at 2:30 pm on Rod Laver Arena. Their head to head is 4-2 for Djokovic.
Jannik won 11 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 6 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Sinner will play next in Marseille (Open 13 Provence). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 5th of February.
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner faced off 6 times. Their current record is 4-2 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Jannik Sinner won 6-2 2-6 7-5 in the Rubber 2 in 1 (Davis Cup, World Group, SF, ITA) in November 2023.
Here are the highlights.
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner |
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