'It’s amazing to see how good he’s become': Novak Djokovic full of praise for Jannik Sinner’s rise

Novak Djokovic discussed the similarities between his game and Jannik Sinner's, after the Italian acknowledged the Serb's significant influence on his development as a player. The Serb advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon and continues his quest for his 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic's last major title pursuit was just weeks ago at the French Open, a path that ended precisely against Sinner in the tournament's semifinals. This time at the All England Club, they could potentially face each other again at the same stage if both continue to advance.

This Saturday, both players secured their spots in the second week of Wimbledon. Sinner swept Pedro Martínez 6-1, 6-3, 6-1, while Djokovic did the same to his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-0, 6-4.

Sinner mentioned a couple of days ago the similarity of his strokes to Djokovic's, though he asserted he feels like a different player from the Serb. However, he admitted to being influenced by "Nole" in building his playing style. In response, Djokovic agreed that there are certain similarities between them. "I do. It’s obvious in terms of the style of play that we both have,” commented the former No. 1. “We have quite a bit of similarities. We try to be aggressive. Take the ball early. Dominate the exchanges from the baseline.

“I remember him as a really young kid, 13 or 14 years old when I met him and hit some balls with him.. he was skinny and tall. Kind of like myself. He’s taller than me. I was always quite skinny when I was younger. He was just ripping the ball. You could see he’s got really good timing and speed on his strokes. He uses the Head Speed racquet that I use as well. There’s quite a few similarities. But obviously he’s unique in his own way."

“The work he’s done with his team over the last few years is tremendous in terms of his improvement. Serve, movement, accuracy. As much as everyone talks about the speed of his shots.. the timing is incredible. But I think it’s just he’s decreased the number of unforced errors he had in the first few years of his career. Now he’s just super accurate and constantly puts pressure on the opponent because he plays so fast."

“I’m glad I was able to, in a sense, influence him in a positive way, as someone he looked up to in terms of the game. He was working for quite a few years with Riccardo Piatti, who used to be my coach. I have a great relationship with him. That’s how I met Jannik. Riccardo would ask me to give advice and some guidance. We would talk quite a bit. I would always be happy to share. It’s amazing to see his journey and how good he’s become, and a dominant force in men’s tennis.”

Djokovic and Sinner will take the court again on Monday for their respective fourth-round matches. Sinner will face Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov (19th seed), while Djokovic will go against Australia's Alex de Minaur (11th seed).