John McEnroe says Jannik Sinner hits one shot which really reminds him of Novak Djokovic, ‘it is extremely similar’

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Jannik Sinner continued his strong start to Wimbledon against Aleksandar Vukic in round two with another straight-sets victory.

Following Sinner’s comfortable win over Luca Nardi in the first round, the Italian had no problems finding a way past Vukic, winning 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in his first match on Centre Court at this year’s championships.

The world number one is in cruise control at Wimbledon, as he continues his pursuit of a fourth Grand Slam title, and will face Pedro Martinez in the next round.

Following his victory over Vukic, tennis legend John McEnroe noticed something about Sinner‘s game which really reminded him of Novak Djokovic.

John McEnroe says Jannik Sinner ‘obviously studied’ Novak Djokovic

Speaking about Sinner on BBC Sport, McEnroe said: “He has learned how to slide into shots and time the slide, which is really hard to do.

“I bet he was good at math because he understands the geometry of the court and how to put his opponents at a major disadvantage.

“His backhand is one of the best shots. To me, he obviously studied Novak’s backhand because it is extremely similar. And then he has the wingspan.

“In America, they talk about that a lot in basketball, the guy is six foot six and from one finger to another, how big is the wingspan.

“I think in Sinner’s case, he is a guy who is six foot three or four who almost looks like he is six foot 10 because of the wingspan. It’s hard to get the ball by him.

“He also gets to that two-hander more than almost any other player when he wants to. He is becoming more complete, and he is willing to work on his volleying skills.

“He has talked about wanting to improve those. He knows they are a lot better than they were, but compared to Alcaraz, not quite the same.

“Drop shot, he is starting to utilise that. Is it as good as Carlos? No. But it’s getting better.

“If Carlos plays his A-plus game, I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who can beat him, but if he goes off a little bit and Sinner plays his game, I don’t know if there is anyone who can beat him.”

Jannik Sinner’s head-to-head record against Novak Djokovic

With both Sinner and Djokovic looking strong in the early stages of Wimbledon, as several seeded stars crash out of the tournament, a semi-final between the two is very likely.

It would be the 10th career clash between them, having first met at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2021, where the Serb won in straight sets.

Djokovic won the following two clashes after that, which both came at Wimbledon, in 2022 and 2023, before Sinner finally got a win over the legend at the ATP Finals in 2023.

Despite taking two years to open his account in the rivalry, the 23-year-old now leads the head-to-head 5-4, having won the last four bouts.