Jannik Sinner, 20, says he and Novak Djokovic have a similar style of tennis and revealed he and the Serb practiced at the start of Wimbledon. On Tuesday, Sinner suffered a heartbreaking Wimbledon loss as Djokovic recovered from two sets down to beat the Serb 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2.
Sinner was playing great and on the verge of reaching his maiden Grand Slam semifinal but his hand got tight when the time came for him to close out the match. After the loss, Sinner acknowledged that going against Djokovic in practice is a complely different story from playing him in an official match.
Tennis pundits and expert believe that Sinner’s style of game reminds of Djokovic’s and the Italian agrees with that. “I think we have a similar style of tennis,” Sinner said, per TennisBuzz. “In the first days of competition, we were practicing together on the grass, and you always learn things from him.
It’s not the same when you play against him in a match of training than doing it in an official match and in a tournament like Wimbledon. You play in front of a lot of people, and that’s special”.
Sinner: Playing Djokovic was a great test for me
“Playing against players like Djokovic is great, because I’m a person who likes to challenge myself and likes to compete against the greatest,” Sinner added.
“I train every day to play matches of this calibre. I know I still have a lot to improve, but I think I can be happy after the tournament I’ve done. I showed a good level of tennis”. Sinner found himself down by an early break in the first but he recovered and won the opening two sets.
Down by two sets, Djokovic produced a stunning comeback to avoid his first Wimbledon defeat since 2017. Even though Sinner lost, it was still a good Wimbledon campaign for him. Sinner clinched his first grass tour-level win at Wimbledon and also reached his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.
