Novak Djokovic has suggested that there is one player on tour who is better than him at the moment.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has endured a tough start to 2024 by his standards, and enters the Clay Court season without a title to his name.
Seeking to rectify that in Monte-Carlo, he has been speaking in the build-up to this prestigious ATP 1000 event.
And, in doing so, he let slip the one player he believes is outperforming him already this year…
Novak Djokovic full of praise for Jannik Sinner
Speaking to the official ATP Tour website, Djokovic, who has just today broken the record for being the oldest world number one in ATP history, has actually inferred that there is another who potentially deserves his crown.
After all, despite the rankings suggesting he is the paramount player on tour, and he certainly is still one of them, it is hard to deny that Jannik Sinner’s form in 2024 makes him a strong contender.
Having already usurped Carlos Alcaraz’s number two spot, and with few points to defend on clay too, the 22-year-old will have grand ambitions of snatching that coveted title from the Serbian superstar.
It almost feels like the 36-year-old is ready for that too, as he noted: ‘Jannik is the best player in the world this year so far. He has had tremendous success. He has improved a lot. Overall his game, his serve, his movement and mentally he is always there.
‘In the important matches the difference of Jannik in the past six months and before that is he is winning the big matches. He learned from his experiences before and made himself a tougher player. More of a big-time player.’
Valid comparisons between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner
Due to their shared relentlessness and impeccable shot-making, comparisons have understandably been drawn between Sinner and Djokovic.
And rightly so.
After all, there is not a great deal of flair to the Italian’s game despite his youth, instead opting to showcase his maturity in the form of his work rate and intelligent decisions.
To contrast him with Alcaraz, who is admittedly two years his junior, and it is clear to see how the Spaniard’s game is still not quite as refined. He has even admitted that the presence of a crowd makes him want to perform the spectacular for their enjoyment.
Sinner has little of that, in the same way that Djokovic has never really had it either.
Both are more than capable of the spectacular, but more than most in world tennis they play the percentages, and thus far have earned huge success from it.
One has won the joint-most Grand Slams in the history of the sport, whilst the other is on track to emulate at least a fraction of that legacy, having just won his first major title earlier this year.
The future is bright for Sinner, and he will hope to enjoy half as successful a career as the one Djokovic has enjoyed.
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