Multiple Grand Slam Winner Picks Who Between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is Novak Djokovic’s Biggest Rival

Novak Djokovic has struggled to win Grand Slams of late particularly due to the dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Multiple Grand Slam Winner Picks Who Between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is Novak Djokovic’s Biggest Rival

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/AllAboutHQ, Jannik Sinner HQ)

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Who is Novak Djokovic‘s biggest rival? At this stage of his career, his body is considered the biggest rival because he has experienced an increase in injuries since the 2024 season.

Since winning his last Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, the only time the Serb made a Major final was at the 2024 Wimbledon, where Carlos Alcaraz denied him his historic 25th title with a straight-set defeat.

But it’s not Alcaraz, who is Djokovic’s biggest rival on the tour, according to Grand Slam doubles great Todd Woodbridge. As per the Aussie, the player is World No.2 Jannik Sinner. He said during the latest episode of The Tennis podcast:

That is the rivalry that I want to see more of in 2026. It is going to be the greatest that we know in terms of numbers, Djokovic, and Sinner, who is going to really rival those numbers, I believe. And so, this one is trying to stop this one from getting near him.

Djokovic holds a 5-4 head-to-head edge over the six-time Grand Slam champion, also defeating him in the final of the 2024 Paris Masters to win his career’s first gold medal. The 38-year-old also knocked out Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of this year’s Australian Open, but Alcaraz avenged his defeat by eliminating him in the semifinal of the US Open.

You can love or not love Novak, but what I do love about him is where he finds his energy, his motivation… He finds it out of those rivalries, out of those moments, not letting them have what he sees as his. This is going to be fun watching both of them. But even on the small scale, he wants to turn around a losing record for Sinner.

Against Sinner, Djokovic trails 4-6 in the head-to-head matchups. The four-time Grand Slam champion, in fact, has won their last five encounters, including in the semifinals of this year’s French Open and Wimbledon. The last time Djokovic clinched a win over the Italian was in the title clash of the 2023 ATP Finals.

Sergiy Stakhovsky says Novak Djokovic can still win a Grand Slam title

Novak Djokovic has made it clear that he will continue his hunt for his historic 25th Grand Slam title next year as well. This year, apart from his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, he also reached the Australian Open last four.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (via Punto de Break)

Djokovic, after losing the first set against Alexander Zverev, handed him the walkover after injuring his hamstring. Former player Sergiy Stakhovsky thinks Djokovic has a better chance of winning another Major than Zverev.

I would even say he has a better chance than Zverev. This year, he has reached four semi-finals. I think he can win anywhere. His excellent statistics in Australia give him plenty of reasons to think about how he will approach this tournament and what will happen next.

Sergiy Stakhovsky told the BTU website

This season, Djokovic reached three finals. After losing the Miami Open final to Jakub Mensik, he ended his trophy drought by defeating Hubert Hurkacz at the Geneva Open. Later in the first edition of the Hellenic Championship, he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the final, winning his 101st singles title.

Sinner and Alcaraz have clinched a combined 26 titles from 35 finals since 2024. This year, they won a combined 14 trophies from 22 finals. Sinner trails 6-10 in the head-to-head matchups. They met six times this year, with Sinner winning in the finals of Wimbledon and the ATP Finals, while Alcaraz claimed the wins at the Italian Open, French Open, Cincinnati Masters, and the US Open.

Also read: Australian Open Director Not Confident Nick Kyrgios Will Get a Wild Card to the Tournament