Sinner credits physicality for domination of Djokovic head-to-head
The Italian has now won five in a row against Djokovic
Chryslene Caillaud / Psnewz
In all of his 1,381 matches, spanning more than two decades, Novak Djokovic has lost to the same player five times in a row just once: prime Rafael Nadal in 2008-2009, four of which were on clay.
That is, until Jannik Sinner dismantled the 24-time Grand Slam champion 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in their Wimbledon semi-final on Sunday, becoming the second player in history to record five straight wins over the Serbian.
While Nadal’s feat was swiftly followed by three revenge victories that same year, the Djokovic-Sinner head-to-head does not have the same feel about it.
Playing on the court where he has lifted seven Wimbledon trophies, Djokovic looked hapless against the world No 1, 15 years his junior. Of course, a leg injury sustained against Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals took the competitive edge off the clash, but even had the 38-year-old been fully fit, he was facing an uphill battle against a player whose serve he has broken just once since 2023.
The key, Sinner explained after his one-sided victory, is his own improvement physically.
“Getting better physically, it helped a lot,” explained Sinner, who lost his first three meetings against Djokovic. “It means that you don’t rush to go out of longer rally. I feel now much more comfortable in that and generally just not rushing so much.
“I think I started to play with Novak when I was very young,” he continued. “You try to gain this experience also and the learning process because what you can learn in matches, you cannot produce it in practice sessions, too.
“For me, every match against him and not only against him – there have been other players who have struggled a lot in my early stages of the career – you always try to learn what they are doing well and where they might struggle.”
Despite his recent domination of the head-to-head against Djokovic, the Italian conceded he still has a hard time picking holes in the former No 1’s game.
“Obviously with Novak, it’s very difficult to find things where he struggles,” he said.
“It’s very, very difficult playing against Novak. You feel the nerves before going to the match. It was today like the same.
“But yeah, also enjoy these moments because they’re very special.”
Next, Sinner faces a complete paradigm shift. Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz awaits in the Wimbledon final, a player who he has lost his last five matches against, including a five-set epic just last month at Roland-Garros.
