‘Roger Is No Longer Here’- Jannik Sinner Turns Student in a Sincere Confession on Novak Djokovic

The Australian Open 2024 started off the tennis season with a big bang. Jannik Sinner took Novak Djokovic’s Melbourne throne this year, marking his ascendence to the Italian’s first Grand Slam victory. In the massive fervor that followed, Sinner’s victory kicked off a different conversation, one that talked about the influence the Big Three of tennis had on the young maestro. In his answers, Sinner managed to surprise everyone with an opinion that some may not have seen coming.

Jannik Sinner revealed the similarities he felt with the Serbian GOAT Novak Djokovic when questioned about the influence of the Big Three.

Jannik Sinner finds his tennis to be similar to Novak Djokovic

In an exclusive interview with MARCA, one question Sinner answered was about the Big Three’s influence on his tennis. Having played during the time of three of the biggest tennis stars on the men’s tour ought to have left the young Italian with some insights. In his answer, Jannik Sinner picked similarities he found with Novak Djokovic, over Federer and Nadal.

Amongst the similarities, Sinner finds his playstyle to line up similarly to Djokovic’s. Whether it is playing from the back of the court or sliding to reach the ball, Djokovic’s playstyle connects with Jannik Sinner. He went on to say, “I think my tennis is similar to Djokovic’s. We both played well from the back of the court, but we tried to go to the net. The way we slide on the track is also similar.”

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In retrospect, Jannik Sinner’s talk of similar playstyles offers some insight into his success against Djokovic. What fans remain happy about is the prospect of seeing more of the 24-time Grand Slam champion take on someone who can put up a good fight.

Australian Open victor maintains respect for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

While he found similarities with Djokovic, Jannik Sinner did not forget about Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. The Italian expressed a great deal of respect for the two, especially when it came to learning from the greats of the game.

“Roger is no longer here, but when the three of them were there, I tried to watch what they did in the gym, outside of it… Learn as much as possible from them. I feel lucky that they are on the tour because they have won more ‘Grand Slam’ titles than anyone else.” It seems the fans and Sinner have a big thing in common, missing the time Roger Federer spent on the court. 

Having tested his skill against Novak Djokovic, what fans would love to see is a bout with the King of Clay. Whether it is on Rafael Nadal’s home turf of Roland Garros or any other surface, it will be fascinating to see how Jannik Sinner performs against him.

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