Jannik Sinner shared his thoughts on playing against Novak Djokovic at Grand Slams.
One of the hardest things to achieve for a tennis player on the ATP Tour is to defeat the 37-year-old in one of the sport’s four biggest tournaments.
He has won more majors than any other male player and he needs just one more to overtake Margaret Court and become the outright Grand Slam leader.
But 2-24 marked the first time since 2017 Novak Djokovic went through an entire season without winning a major, and Jannik Sinner is one of the reasons why.
What did Jannik Sinner say about playing Novak Djokovic at a Grand Slam?
Djokovic had shattered the dreams of many tennis players at Grand Slams throughout his illustrious career.
He has prevented the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud from becoming a Grand Slam champion, while stopping his biggest rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer from winning even more majors.
But at the 2024 Australian Open, Sinner did one of the most difficult things in tennis, defeating Djokovic at Melbourne Park. He won their semi-final encounter to hand the Serbian his first loss at the tournament since 2018.
Sinner went on to win the title in Australia and has since produced the best season of his career so far, and that victory gave him the confidence to defeat Djokovic at the highest level.
“With Novak, especially in Grand Slams it’s really tough to play because it’s best of five. I was fortunate to play against him last year in Wimbledon so I had at least once this feeling,” Sinner told HEAD Tennis.
“I wanted to improve it in Australia which I’ve done but this is also a great test for me playing against the best players in the world in the biggest stages and when I feel prepared that I can do it also the confidence level raises. It was for sure a great feeling.”
How many times have Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic played at Grand Slams?
Sinner and Djokovic have played at Grand Slams on three occasions. Their first two meetings came at the Wimbledon Championships in 2022 and 2023.
Sinner held a two-set lead in their first contest, but Djokovic rallied and produced a 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-,2 6-2 comeback before going on to win the title.
Their encounter the following year was more straightforward for Djokovic as he claimed a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) victory.
After Sinner recorded his first two victories over Djokovic towards the end of 2023 at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup, his third came on the big stage of the Australian Open with a convincing four set win.
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