Ex-ATP Pro’s Take on Whether Jannik Sinner Can Surpass Novak Djokovic on Hardcourts: “He’s a Better Player”

Jannik Sinner’s 26-match winning streak on hard courts ended after his mid-match retirement from the Cincinnati Masters final.

Ex-ATP Pro’s Take on Whether Jannik Sinner Can Surpass Novak Djokovic on Hardcourts: “He’s a Better Player”

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic (X/The Tennis Letter)

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Jannik Sinner has claimed three hardcourt Grand Slam titles – two at the Australian Open and one at the US Open. The player with the most hardcourt Grand Slam singles titles is none other than Novak Djokovic, whose tally is 14 (10 Australian Open and four US Open trophies).

In the recently concluded Cincinnati Masters, Sinner failed to defend his title as he suffered from an illness and which forced him to give a walkover to Carlos Alcaraz after trailing 0-5 in the first set. It also ended his 26-match winning streak on hardcourts that started from the Shanghai Masters last year. Following the final, Jack Sock, on the Nothing Major podcast, gave his opinion on whether Sinner could surpass Djokovic and win the most number of Majors on hardcourts.

I don’t think we would be surprised, honestly. I think it shows how good he is that the stats are getting lost in all the results because he is literally in every final and is winning and playing for every title and tournament that he plays in. The fact that it’s like he’s now accumulated 26 hard-court wins in a row, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. It’s gotten to the point that if it’s not Sinner and Alcaraz in the final, then it’s a surprising tournament.

It was Sinner who stopped Djokovic from reaching the finals of two Grand Slam events this season. In the semifinals of the French Open and Wimbledon, Sinner knocked out the 24-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets, and now leads 6-4 in the head-to-head matchups.

And I think Sinner is the better player at the moment. I don’t know about 16 hardcourt Majors, but I think he is going to dominate for a long time.

Jack Sock added

Due to the illness, the World No.1 couldn’t participate in the US Open mixed doubles he was scheduled to play alongside Katerina Siniakova. But Djokovic played his match, along with Olga Danilovic. They lost in their first match against the Russian team of Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva.

In singles, Djokovic will continue his hunt for his historic 25th Grand Slam title. The last Major he lifted was the 2023 US Open by beating Casper Ruud. Since that win, the Serb has made a Grand Slam final only once, in last year’s Wimbledon which he lost to Alcaraz.

Ryan Harrison on whether Jannik Sinner would recover before the US Open

The main draw of the US Open singles is scheduled to start on August 24, so Jannik Sinner has an ample amount of time to recover from the illness before starting his title defense. And this is why former player from America, Ryan Harrison, is not worried about the four-time Grand Slam champion.

Jannik Sinner (2)
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Not much. I think hearing that he has seven days to respond. Whatever he is dealing with, he will be straight to the doctor’s office. From that camp, it’s not something that I would be overly worried about.

Ryan Harrison told Sky Sports

Last year at Flushing Meadows, Sinner spoiled Taylor Fritz‘s hope to end the American men’s title drought in singles with a straight-set win. If he fails to defend his title, he could drop to the second position on the rankings table as he currently has 11,480 points, while World No.2 has 9,590.

The 24-year-old has far this season, played five finals and clinched two titles, both in Grand Slam events. He breezed past Alexander Zverev to defend his Australian Open title. After losing the French Open final to Alcaraz following five tough sets, he took his revenge on the five-time Grand Slam champion with a four-set win at Wimbledon.

Also read: Jasmine Paolini Wishes Health and Recovery for Jannik Sinner After Losing the Cincinnati Open Final