Novak Djokovic has responded to claims that he disrespected World No.1, Jannik Sinner, in a recent interview about the Italian’s ability.
Novak Djokovic Responds To Claims Over Showing Disrespect To Jannik Sinner
The Serbian tennis star has caught some attention after a recent interview which included a section over describing tennis players with one word.
Sinner and Djokovic will both be competing at the Australian Open in Melbourne, with the Serbian looking to win his 25th Grand Slam and the Italian hoping to defend his title.
In an interview with GQ, Djokovic was asked to play the popular ‘word association’ game in relation to current players and retired players.
He described Roger Federer with ‘elegance’, Rafael Nadal with ‘tenacity’ and ‘charisma’ for the young Spanish tennis star, Carlos Alcaraz.
However, when asked to select a word for Sinner, Djokovic opted for ‘skiing’ which left some fans questioning if this was a form of disrespect towards Sinner who won two of the four Grand Slams in 2024.
The Serbian was quick to refute these comments as he prepares for his Australian Open encounter against Nishesh Basavareddy.
Djokovic said: “Yes, I’ve seen it on social media that it’s being made into some kind of drama or a story, like I humiliated him or I’ve intentionally shown disrespect toward him.
“That’s ridiculous. It was one of those quiz type of interviews where you have to think of something in a second. Sinner’s name came up and I had this image in my head of him skiing, because I saw he was skiing somewhere.
“Also, the two of us talk about skiing always, how we’re going to ski together, etc. That’s why I said ‘skiing’, not because I don’t respect his achievements in tennis, on the contrary.
“It is as clear as day that the way he is dominating is worthy of every praise – both his playing style and the level of play.
“He’s got all the attributes I’ve mentioned in others and now people make it seem like I am disrespecting him. Rubbish.”
Jannik Sinner, who is the favourite to win the Australian Open on UK betting sites, begins his title defence campaign against Nicholas Jarry.
