Novak Djokovic Reveals He Sees Himself in Jannik Sinner’s Game Ahead of Six Kings Slam Clash: “He’s Skinny Like Me, Hits Very Hard”

Novak Djokovic lost his previous five matches against Jannik Sinner, including at the French Open and Wimbledon this year.

Novak Djokovic Reveals He Sees Himself in Jannik Sinner’s Game Ahead of Six Kings Slam Clash: “He’s Skinny Like Me, Hits Very Hard”

Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/AllAboutHQ, The Tennis Letter)

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Novak Djokovic is all set to play his first match in the second edition of the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition event that started on October 15. The first day saw Taylor Fritz knock out Alexander Zverev, and later, Jannik Sinner went past Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Even though Zverev and Tsitsipas did not win a set, they pocketed $1.5 million as their participation prize money. On October 16, Alcaraz, who received a first-round bye, will be locking horns with Fritz in the semifinals, while Djokovic will meet defending champion Sinner in the other semifinal. Ahead of their meeting, Djokovic stated that the four-time Grand Slam champion reminds him of himself because of Sinner’s physical appearance and his game style.

Sinner. I think it’s obvious. Try to smack the ball as hard as you can, and you know, moves well; skinny like I am, and plays the game to perfection in terms of strategy, and he tries to be an all-round player and plays every shot in the game, so, yeah, I think that resembles me in my best days.

Novak Djokovic said in Riyadh

Before arriving in Riyadh, both Sinner and Djokovic participated in the Shanghai Masters. Sinner’s campaign ended because of cramps in the third round against Tallon Griekspoor, while Djokovic suffered a straight-set defeat to eventual winner Valentin Vacherot in the second round.

In his head-to-head matchups with Djokovic, Sinner holds a 6-4 lead and has also defeated him in their five previous encounters. It was Sinner who stopped Djokovic from reaching the French Open and Wimbledon finals, beating him in straight sets in the semifinals.

Following the Six Kings Slam, the 24-year-old will be participating at the Vienna Open to bid for his second title in the tournament (after 2023) as well as his fourth title of the season after his wins at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the China Open. After Vienna, he will play the Paris Masters, which Djokovic will skip.

Aryna Sabalenka on her relationship with Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka share a great bond, and in the past few months, they have entertained the fans with fun challenges, which also include their dance competition during the French Open. Although Djokovic is struggling to win titles this year, Sabalenka has so far clinched four trophies, including at the US Open.

Aryna Sabalenka, Novak Djokovic
Aryna Sabalenka, Novak Djokovic (Image via X/Francesca)

She recently played the Wuhan Open, where her run was ended by eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. Later, during an interview with AFP in Hong Kong, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion talked about her friendship with the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

He’s a great guy, and he’s very open. You can ask anything and he can give you advice. And he’s such an open guy, and I love practising with him because for me it’s such high-intensity training. It just helps me physically and even mentally to get better. And then when I play against girls, I’m not getting tired physically because I practise with Novak.

Aryna Sabalenka said

Sabalenka’s next target is the WTA Finals, where she has not yet won a title, reaching the final in 2022 and losing the match to Caroline Garcia. Last year in the year-end championships, the Belarusian suffered a straight-set defeat to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the semifinals.

Djokovic, on the other hand, has signed up for the first edition of the Hellenic Championship, scheduled to start on November 2 in Athens. The 38-year-old won just the Geneva Open this year and lost the final of the Miami Open. He also played every semifinal of the four Majors this year.

Also read: Shanghai Masters Champion Valentin Vacherot Expresses His Wish to Play Against Jannik Sinner Soon: “It Would Be an Honor”