‘What Jannik Sinner does in an excellent way is what Novak Djokovic also does: they take you to your limit’
Matteo Berrettini has compared Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic by identifying a quality he sees in both the Italian and the Serbian.
The world No 34 believes Sinner and Djokovic each take their opponents to the limit — something that he feels is a rare ability.
Sinner’s game has seen him likened to Djokovic, with tennis legend Boris Becker claiming the Italian is similar to the 24-time Grand Slam winner “from a purely stylistic point of view.”
“As for ‘Nole’, he’s similar. His style is very similar, especially in terms of consistency. Jannik never goes under par, he always plays at a very high level and brings top-quality tennis to the court,” the six-time major champion said.
“He puts great speed into his shots and pushes his opponents away from the baseline. When Nole was a little younger, up until a couple of years ago, he was able to dominate baseline rallies thanks to his fundamentals, footwork and speed.”
Sinner ended the 2024 season as the ATP world No 1 after winning eight titles, including three Grand Slams and the ATP Finals.
Djokovic secured his only title of 2024 at the Paris Olympics, while he was also a runner-up at Wimbledon and the Shanghai Masters. The 37-year-old, who is currently the world No 7, has not played since his loss to Sinner in the Shanghai title match in October.
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The head-to-head record between Djokovic and Sinner is tied at 4-4, with the Italian having won the pair’s last three encounters.
Prior to the Shanghai final, Sinner defeated Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open and the 2023 Davis Cup Finals, while his last loss to the Serbian came in the final of the 2023 ATP Finals.
Speaking to Sky Sport Italy, Berrettini made a favourable comparison between his Italian compatriot Sinner and tennis icon Djokovic.
“What Jannik does in an excellent way is what Novak also does: they take you to your limit, then once they’ve taken you there they don’t say ‘okay’, they say ‘good, now hold it for three hours, let’s see if you can do it’,” the former world No 6 said.
“This is something that very few people do. And in fact, the games they lose are few.”
Berrettini has lost both of his matches with Sinner, while he holds an 0-4 record against Djokovic, who he lost to in the 2021 Wimbledon final.
The Italian fell 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 to Jordan Thompson in his first match of the 2025 season at the Brisbane International.
Djokovic is also competing in Brisbane and will face Rinky Hijikata in the opening round, while Sinner will not feature until his Australian Open title defence.
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