Jannik Sinner ended Novak Djokovic and Serbia’s dream of lifting a second Davis Cup title. The Italian beat the latter in their singles fixture, his second win over the Serb in two weeks. The last man to achieve this against Djokovic was Nick Kyrgios. The Aussie also reacted to this statistic posted by a journalist on X (formerly Twitter).
Sinner secured a surprising victory over Djokovic on November 14 in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals. That loss posed a real threat to the World No.1’s chances of qualifying for the semifinals. However, with a bit of luck, Djokovic got through and ultimately faced Sinner again in the final. This time, he emerged victorious and lifted the title.
The pair clashed again as Serbia and Italy met in the Davis Cup Final 8 semifinals on November 25. Sinner got his revenge by beating Djokovic in their singles match. Teaming up with Lorenzo Sonego, he also downed the 24-time Majors winner and Miomir Kecmanovic in doubles to win the tie for Italy.
This made Sinner the first man in over six years to post two wins over Djokovic in two weeks. In early March 2017, Kyrgios completed such a double over the Serb. This stat was shared by radio journalist Craig Gabriel on X. The maverick Australian light-heartedly reacted, saying Sinner has good company.
Pretty good company I must say ️️ https://t.co/xFuwU1fDJM
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) November 25, 2023
Kyrgios got the best of Djokovic in their first meeting in the 2017 Mexican Open quarterfinals on March 2. Aged 22, he beat the #1 seed 6-7, 5-7. A few days later on March 15, the duo crossed paths again in the Indian Wells Masters Round of 16.
The Aussie once again triumphed, winning 6-4, 7-6. It took six years for someone to emulate him. Sinner can claim to have gone one step further, notching a total of three wins against Djokovic, counting doubles, and losing once.
Jannik Sinner will hope to join Nick Kyrgios in having a positive record against Novak Djokovic
Kyrgios is one of the few players from this generation who can brag about having a positive head-to-head against Djokovic. In fact, he held a perfect 2-0 head-to-head record until their 2022 Wimbledon final. That remains Djokovic’s only win over Kyrgios, for whom it was a career-best Grand Slam result. Hence, the now-inactive player leads 2-1 against the Serb.
While there are no confirmed announcements, he has maintained that he wants to return to tennis as soon as possible. Kyrgios will likely be back early in the 2024 season and another blockbuster addition to his rivalry with Djokovic could be on the cards.
Sinner, meanwhile, had never beaten Djokovic before collecting two wins in two weeks. The latter has defeated the former four times but only once on hard courts. The Italian has won two of their three singles clashes on hard courts.
With this breakthrough 2023 season, Sinner has established himself as a firm challenger. His rivalry with Djokovic will surely see more chapters added but not all would be in the World No.1’s favour, as was the case until now. This is an exciting duel to watch out for.
