Jannik Sinner might have been the best player in the world in the past four months, but the Italian has no intention of comparing himself to Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner has been recently compared to Djokovic and Alcaraz, mostly because of his recent success. Whether it’s because he beat the Serbian a few times in the past six months or because he’s expected to dominate tennis alongside Alcaraz in the future, it’s something that leaves the Italian quite uncomfortable.
He has always avoided making big statements in the media in general, opting to focus on the tennis side of things. However, this narrative has been rampant for much of this year.
He addressed this ahead of the 2024 Madrid Open, explaining that he doesn’t think he can compare himself to them.
“I think it’s a difficult question to answer. We always look at the current moment, and sometimes that’s good, and other times it’s not. I don’t think I can compare myself to Djokovic and everything he’s done: I have a lot of respect for him, just like I have a lot of respect for Carlos, who has won more than me.”
“I have a lot of respect for both of them. I just try to play my tennis, be able to give my best and see what I can achieve.”
Sinner once again reiterated his stance of focusing on tennis, mostly intending to do his best and everything else coming secondary to that. He’s been forgotten in the past few years due to his slow progress, but his rapid rise in recent months is the product of his approach.
He improved bit by bit, and when he finally took the next step, he looked unbeatable. He lost only two matches this year. One was against Alcaraz in Indian Wells, while the other was against Stefanos Tsitsipas recently in Monte Carlo.
