Novak Djokovic gets ready for a clash with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the French Open semifinals on Friday, but the schedule is still open for a blockbuster clash of generational titans. The head-to-head is tight 4-4, but it’s Jannik Sinner who comes into the game with the wind in his sails as the Italian has recently won their last three encounters on hardcourts in under a year.
Now 38, Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam winner, has matches like this that light up his trademark mental warfare — the area where he is the most successful. He said, “These kinds of matchups draw the best of me. Playing best-of-five in the later stages of a Slam, against the world No. 1, is the greatest motivation I could ask for at this age.”
Jannik Sinner Attracts Media Attention
At 23, Jannik Sinner is a rising tennis star who has attracted the media attention of the best and worst kind. Here and there, the actions of him and his team after the return from the ban period imposed for the doping with Clostebol (a banned steroid) have caused discussions in the tennis community.
On the one hand, some players have supported Jannik Sinner, on the other, those players, among whom Novak Djokovic is, feel strongly about the unjust treatment of top players and the fairness of the rule. “It seems that if you are a top player, you can almost influence the result,” Djokovic said at the beginning of this year.
Jannik Sinner In Top Form
Jannik Sinner’s performance on the court has been amazing. The Italian has exhibited such firmness in mind and body, qualities that are usually attributed to Novak Djokovic. The Serb, though, emerges in Paris full of confidence after a victory in Geneva and triumphs over top players like Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in rounds of play. “Sinner recognised that he had proven he was back to his best level,” Sinner said. “It will be a tactical match and very hard.”
In the other half of the draw, Carlos Alcaraz, who is the reigning champion, meets Lorenzo Musetti, who is also from Spain. Alcaraz is most of the time victorious in their head-to-head contest as he leads 5-1 and has won the last 5 meetings with Musetti, with 4 on the clay court.
