Jannik Sinner makes honest confession about ‘looking up to’ Carlos Alcaraz & Novak Djokovic
Jannik Sinner has revealed he “looks up to” both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic as he expressed the importance of having rivalries and players “better” than him.
The four-time major champion crushed 24-time Slam winner Djokovic 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Sinner will face world No 1 and six-time major champion Alcaraz in the final in Riyadh on Saturday, with the winner earning an additional $4.5million on top of their $1.5million participation fee.
The Italian defeated Alcaraz in three sets in the final of the inaugural Six Kings Slam last year. Alcaraz holds a 10-5 head-to-head advantage in official ATP matches with Sinner, having won seven of the pair’s last eight encounters (including a retirement from Sinner in Cincinnati).
In an interview on Netflix after his win over Djokovic at the Six Kings Slam, Sinner spoke about the importance of constantly improving.
“For me, it’s very important to improve,” said the world No 2.
“That’s, for me, the most important. At the end of my career, I would love to say I did everything possible to achieve 100% of myself.
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“Success will never change me as a person. This is also very important. You need rivalries. You need better players than you. Carlos is an all around player. An incredible talent. We saw this today on court. Drop shots… he can do everything.
“I look up to these guys. I look up to Novak. I look up to Carlos. To have a point where I can say, ‘Okay, it’s very important for me to improve’, this is exactly what motivates me.”
The 24-year-old also looked ahead to his showdown with Alcaraz.
“I look forward every time we face each other,” Sinner said in an on-court interview.
“It’s great for us. It’s gonna be a great battle. I’ll try to be as ready as I can. It’s obviously a huge honour to play against him again.
“I’m looking forward to it. I hope you guys do also. We all hope for a great Saturday night.”
Prior to the Six Kings Slam, Sinner and Alcaraz faced off in the finals at the last five ATP level events they both competed in, including the last three Grand Slams.
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