Rafael Nadal’s Uncle Toni Believes the Australian Open Heralds Jannik Sinner’s Arrival as Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘True Rival’

With the magnitude of wins Jannik Sinner has had with the first Grand Slam of the year, it seems like he keeps on getting better. The top 10 players up until now did not have someone like him to challenge their skills and form on the court. But now Sinner has taken over with his impeccable form, defeating the likes of the King of Melbourne Park at the Australian Open 2024, eventually taking the title.

Just recently Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and coach shared how he thinks that Jannik Sinner might be the new threat that tennis players, especially those at the top, should get ready to encounter.

Toni Nadal shares Jannik Sinner might be the next biggest rival

The young Italian player achieved a great deal by winning this grand slam, especially after defeating the world number 1 in the semifinals. With the great progress he has made this past year, it is clear that Jannik Sinner might be the next big thing and rival for the top tennis players.

Toni Nadal shared, “There is little doubt that he has been the player with the greatest improvement in this last year. He has been able to defeat every top 10 player, including Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. In his last 13 matches against a player among the top 10 in the world ranking, he has won 12 times. If we add the confidence that winning a Grand Slam gives, we can only expect greater ease & daring. Also, the confirmation that he will be our tennis player’s greatest rival in the coming years.”

Till now it was Novak Djokovic who used to challenge every top scorer in history despite being one of the older players. But with Sinner, that may change. Let’s take a look at the stats of matches between the two.

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Djokovic vs Sinner: How many times has Novak Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner?

Djokovic lost the first time against Sinner at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2023. This was during the robin round where Sinner won with a dramatic triumph. The Serb also lost to the Italian tennis star in the semifinals of the Wimbledon in the year 2022 in a 3-set match. They also competed against each other at the Davis Cup where again Sinner won out of the two.

But it was a very competitive match where in the end a tiebreaker decided their fate. Even though there is still a lot to witness for Sinner and Djokovic in the 2024 tournament season, it is clear that Sinner may just give both the world number 1 and 2 great competition.

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