Jannik Sinner is set on a record-breaking run in the 2024 season. His impressive start to the year has been compared to the likes of Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic. Three out of the four events he has played this year have been massive successes for the Italian. Now, Sinner can become the second player after Novak Djokovic to win the Australian Open, Miami Masters, and the Monte Carlo Masters in the same season.
Djokovic had completed the incredible trio at the start of the season in 2015 and is the only player from the ATP Tour to do it so far during the Open Era. He was 27 when achieving the feat, but Jannik Sinner is now 22 years old.
Jannik Sinner could become the youngest player to secure titles at Melbourne, Miami, and Monte Carlo. In the first four months of the 2024 season, Sinner bagged 22 wins out of 23 matches until the start of the Monte Carlo Masters 2024, losing only to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Indian Wells competition.
1 – Players who won the Men’s Singles titles at the Australian Open, Miami Open and Monte-Carlo the same year in the Open Era:
Novak Djokovic in 2015.
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The Italian has captured three titles in the first four months of the Tour. He leads the race this season in terms of wins and titles. Sinner will be looking forward to equaling the records set by Djokovic.
The 22-year-old has a huge edge over Djokovic too, winning 3 out of their last 4 meetings. The pair could face each other in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters this year. If Sinner wins, it is likely that he could become World No.1 in the coming weeks.
Jannik Sinner is following Novak Djokovic’s path
The top two players on the ATP Tour have been fierce rivals since 2021. While Sinner has been in form lately, Djokovic is slowly rebuilding his shape on the court. Both players have a similar shot-making style from the baseline.
While Sinner has a powerful hitting style, his sliding backhand winners almost look like a version of Djokovic’s style.
In the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title, and Sinner won his first major title in Melbourne this year. Co-incidentally, the Serb was 21 at the time while Sinner was 22 when he won there. The then World No.3 had defeated the top seed in the semifinals and the fifth seed in the quarterfinals, just like Sinner. Both players also won their first tour titles when they were aged just 19.
In 2011, the 24-time Grand Slam champion won the Australian Open and the Miami Open for the first time in the same year. Djokovic went on to repeat the feat three more times in his career. The World No.2 achieved the same feat this year as Djokovic at the same age.
While there are similarities in the court, the duo shares a common relationship outside the court. Both their parents are from the food industry. Another sparkling resemblance comes from their teenage years as Riccardo Piatti coached them. The renowned Italian coach admitted that Sinner reminded him of a young Djokovic, as they also like skiiing and come from a very modest background.