Is Jannik Sinner the man Novak Djokovic has to fear now? 

Novak Djokovic is quite possibly the greatest tennis player of all time. He has won 24 Grand Slam titles — the highest by any male player — and also amassed an unprecedented 400+ weeks as the No.1 player of all time. Moreover, he has also won 38 Masters 1000 titles, which is a record, too.

Quite understandably, it came as a big surprise when the legendary Serb lost in four sets to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal last month. The Grand Slam played at Melbourne Park is Djokovic’s favorite one, as he has won 10 titles there already.

The 36-year-old seemed to be the favorite to take that number up to 11 until he came up against Sinner, who won the first two sets 6-1 and 6-2, respectively. It was the way Djokovic capitulated in familiar conditions that made the world take notice.

Sinner then went on to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final to win his first Grand Slam. He also won the title in Rotterdam last Sunday (February 18) to continue his superb run.

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The turnaround in Jannik Sinner’s career happened in 2023

Jannik Sinner was probably the most improved player in 2023 and had a win-loss record of 64-15 that year. He has further improved this year and boasts a win-loss record of 12-0 so far. He managed to win his first Masters 1000 title in Canada last year and also won the Davis Cup with Italy, beating Djokovic's Serbia in the final.

However, more importantly, Sinner has won three of his last four matches against the peerless Djokovic, which is sort of an anomaly among the younger players. The likes of Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and even Carlos Alcaraz have lost more often to the 36-year-old Serb than they have won.

What it very significantly means is that the 22-year-old is extremely tough mentally and does not shy away from a fight against the greatest player in history. It is a very commendable feat indeed and augurs well for his future as a tennis great.

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Sinner should continue to pose a significant threat to Djokovic

Sinner has become a better player during the last couple of seasons by making some necessary adjustments to his game. He is a much better player at the net now than he was two years ago. He also added quality drop-shots to his repertoire.

However, on the flip side, Sinner still does not play his backhand slices as he would like to. The slice can be a very important shot on clay to further slow down the tempo of the game. Djokovic himself did not play that shot really well at the start of his career, but has improved in that regard considerably over the course of time.

Sinner has a very powerful serve and can hit well off either wing, which makes him a very dangerous player on hard courts. However, his performances on natural surfaces (clay and grass) are still not at the same level.

Eleven of his 12 titles have come on hard courts, with the Italian winning his solitary title on clay in Umag in 2022. Hence, the Serb will always have the upper hand should he meet the Italian on clay or grass this year.

In this context, it is worth pointing out that Djokovic will probably play tennis for a couple of more years and hence, he might not have enough time to build a great rivalry with Sinner.

Still, the Italian will be a dangerous proposition on hard courts even against the greatest hardcourt player of all time. However, on natural surfaces, Djokovic will still have the edge.