“After Running a Hate Campaign”: Italian Newspaper Invites Ire of Novak Djokovic & Jannik Sinner Fans With Divisive Graphic

Jannik Sinner secured one of the biggest wins of his career after defeating Novak Djokovic in the 2023 ATP Finals round-robin stage. Italian media outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport commemorated it by publishing a graphic of the latter passing on his crown to the former. While it showed Sinner in a positive light, it triggered the fanbases of the two players for separate reasons.

Djokovic’s followers criticized the publication for jumping the gun in showing him letting go of the crown. Sinner’s fans accused the media house of flipping their stance on the local. They claimed Gazzetta Dello Sport wanted to hop on the bandwagon after his big win despite being unnecessarily harsh on him initially.

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic faced off in the second fixture of the group phase. In a see-saw match that lasted over three hours, the home favorite emerged victorious. He won the first set but the Serb bounced back to bag the second. However, the Italian refused to let Djokovic mount a trademark comeback and wrapped the tie 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2).  Gazzetta Dello Sport put out an illustration which showed Djokovic crowning Sinner, who accepted it on one knee, implying that the latter is the new ‘king’ of tennis.

Sinner’s supporters expressed their discontent with the image. They condemned the news outlet for trying to erase the fact that they harshly criticized the player often in the past. They described the newspaper as ‘garbage’ and ‘toilet paper’.

Djokovic fans, meanwhile, were unhappy with the implication that Sinner is taking over from the 24-time Grand Slam winner. They said a round-robin match is not worthy of being a metric for the handing over of the baton, calling it ‘premature’.

Djokovic will look to bounce back from his loss when he takes on Hubert Hurkacz next in the last round-robin match. The Pole came in as a replacement for Stefanos Tsitsipas. Sinner, meanwhile, has one leg in the semi-finals and will face Holger Rune next.

Jannik Sinner was wrongfully slammed for prioritizing his fitness

Gazzetta Dello Sport is one of the leading dailies in Italy. They have been at loggerheads with Sinner since September this year. While the player himself has not commented yet, his fans have often attacked the outlet for repeatedly slamming the 22-year-old.

After the US Open, Sinner announced his withdrawal from Italy’s squad for the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage. Missing their highest-ranked player, the European nation succumbed to Canada in their first tie. A prominent Gazzetta Dello Sport journalist blamed Sinner’s absence for Italy’s defeat. He accused the player of not loving his country. Sinner had withdrawn to priorisitse his health and fitness after a very fatiguing North American swing. The journalist also recounted all the times the  2023 Canadian Open champion had allegedly skipped playing for Italy.

The outlet has continued taking shots at Sinner ever since. His fans were understandably incensed as the media house tried to flip their stand and put themselves in a good light after his win. Gazzetta Dello Sport will likely have learnt their lesson after the backlash and will not put their country’s best player down again.