Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will battle it out in the final of the 2023 ATP Finals. The Italian will look to cap off a perfect campaign and announce himself as a genuine contender for the major tournaments. On the other hand, the Serb will hope to defend his title and pull clear of Roger Federer with seven ATP Finals titles.
The second half of 2023 has been great for Sinner. He lifted his first ATP Masters trophy, winning the Canadian Open. Before the ATP Finals, he bagged two ATP 500 tournaments in October. He has continued with his phenomenal performances, finishing the round-robin with a perfect 3-0 record, including a win over Djokovic. Sinner was tested by Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final but inflicted a breadstick in the third set to get into the summit clash.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, has been invincible since losing the Wimbledon final. His only defeat after that match was against Sinner in the group stage. The World No.1, though, looked scratchy as all three of his Green group fixtures went into three sets. However, he secured a dominant straight-set victory in the semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz.
The head-to-head between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic reads 3-1 in the latter’s favor. The World No.4, though, has momentum on his side after having bested the latter in the group stage. Additionally, Djokovic will be playing the championship match less than 24 hours after his semi-final.
The Turin crowd has vocally backed their local lad throughout the year-end event and the final will be no different. None of Sinner’s three losses to Djokovic has been on hard courts. The Italian’s round-robin victory over the Serb was the only time they played on hardcourt and the former walked away with a win. The latter is tied with Federer for most ATP Finals won, with six titles each. The expectation to bag a seventh and become the sole record-holder will surely be on Djokovic’s mind.
Having recently won their only hardcourt match yet, with the crowd on his side, expect Sinner to play spoilsport in Djokovic’s quest. The latter will put up a spirited fight but multiple factors work against him.
Pick Sinner to win the ATP Finals final in three sets and cap off a wonderful 2023 season.
Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner head-t0-head and previous matches
Novak Djokovic fell to Jannik Sinner after a thrilling three-set encounter in the second round-robin clash, taking their head-to-head to 3-1. The home favourite won 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2) to bag his first victory against the 24-time Grand Slam winner. The result upset a lot of calculations and there was a real chance of Djokovic missing out on the semi-finals altogether. However, it was Sinner himself who secured a final-four berth for him by beating Holger Rune.
Before the ATP Finals, Djokovic completed a hat-trick of wins over Sinner. For two consecutive years, the latter’s Wimbledon campaign was ended by the former. In 2022, the eventual champion eliminated Sinner after a five-set quarter-final encounter. A year later, the match-up happened again in London, this time in the semi-finals. Djokovic comprehensively won in straight sets.
The duo’s first meeting came at the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters. Djokovic dominated Sinner without breaking a sweat on clay. The Italian has come a long way since then and has looked unbeatable in the 2023 ATP Finals. This could be the big trophy he needs to kickstart an era of genuine title challenges. Djokovic is not an easy opponent, but Sinner knows what it takes to beat him.
