Rising star Jannik Sinner believes his upcoming clash with Novak Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters will help him establish what level he is currently playing at on the Tour.
The world No.22 booked a meeting with the 18-time Grand Slam champion after defeating Spain’s Albert Ramos 6-3, 6-4, in his first round match on Tuesday. Sinner comes into the tournament high in confidence after recently reaching his maiden Masters 1000 final in Miami which he lost to Poland’s Herbert Hurkacz. He is only the fourth teenager in history to reach the final of Miami.
The showdown against Djokovic is only the second time Sinner has faced a top 10 player this season after Daniil Medvedev, who is out of Monte Carlo after testing positive for COVID-19. Djokovic is making his return to the Tour this week after taking time off to train and be with his family. He last played at the Australian Open.
“I don’t think that’s important right now because I think he practiced until this time,” Sinner replied when asked if his recent run of match play gives him the upper hand. “Obviously I knew that he had pain in the abs, but I think he’s good now because he is playing the tournament.’
“I think he has prepared in a good way to be ready for Monte-Carlo.”
Tipped as a future world No.1 by some, the Italian has a mixed record when it comes to playing a member of the top 10. Out of his nine meetings, he has won three of them which all occurred last year. His wins were over David Goffin (10), Alexander Zverev (7) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (6). Two of those triumphs was on the clay.
“I think he (Djokovic) has more experience than me, obviously. (But) I don’t think that’s an advantage or not,” he said. “I played today one match which can give me a little bit the feeling back on the clay.’
“I’m looking forward to a great battle and trying to play my tennis.”
Regardless of what happens in his second round encounter, Sinner hopes he will be able to learn what areas of his game he needs to improve on in the coming months. He is currently trained by Riccardo Piatti who coincidently once worked with Djokovic.
“It’s a good test for my side to see where I am, especially where I can improve. I know where I can improve, but this kind of match can give me a lot. I just try to go there with the right mentality like in every match and we will see what happens,” he concluded.
Should Sinner beat Djokovic he would become the youngest player to defeat a world No.1 player on the men’s Tour since Nick Kyrgios at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
