{"id":296539,"date":"2023-11-29T08:39:19","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T08:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=296539"},"modified":"2023-11-29T08:39:19","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T08:39:19","slug":"novak-djokovic-fears-sinner-as-ex-french-open-champ-makes-drastic-u-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/tennis\/novak-djokovic-fears-sinner-as-ex-french-open-champ-makes-drastic-u-turn\/","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic &#8216;fears&#8217; Sinner as ex-French Open champ makes drastic U-turn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/Sinner-Davis-Cup-5090616.jpg?r=1701246224784\"><\/p>\n<p>Jannik Sinner\u00a0has been told that Novak Djokovic \u201cfears\u201d him after the Italian saved three match points to beat him in the recent Davis Cup semi-final. Retired star Adriano Panatta believes that the 22-year-old will have the advantage when he next faces the world No 1. But it\u2019s a dramatic U-turn from the 1976 French Open winner, who blasted Sinner just months ago for missing the Davis Cup group stage.<\/p>\n<p>Sinner recently helped Italy clinch their first Davis Cup trophy in 47 years. The world No 4 put on a masterclass to beat Alex de Minair 6-3 6-0 in the final after Matteo Arnaldi downed Alexei Popyrin. Sinner also had to keep his nation alive in both their quarter-final and semi-final ties when they lost the first singles rubber.<\/p>\n<p>On both occasions he stormed back to win the second singles match and, with Lorenzo Sonego, clinched victory in the doubles. In the semi-final, he saved three match points against Djokovic which would have given Serbia a place in the final. But Sinner was able to come through 6-2 2-6 7-5 before he and Sonego beat Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic in doubles.<\/p>\n<p>Retired Italian tennis player Panatta now believes that Sinner has an edge over the 24-time Grand Slam champion, with Djokovic \u201cfearing\u201d his young rival. \u201cHe is an example, he is a millimetre from Djokovic, they play on equal terms,\u201d the 73-year-old told Corriere dello Sport.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> <strong> Just in <\/strong> <strong>Martina Navratilova calls for key tennis change in response to Djokovic defeat[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/5090627.jpg?r=1701246224858\"><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSaving three match points is a feat within a feat. Next time, Jannik will start with an advantage. Nole fears him. With Jannik, we are good for ten years, he is square and mature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Panatta had a very different opinion of Sinner just a few months ago. The world No 4 pulled out of Italy\u2019s squad for the Davis Cup group stage in September, claiming he didn\u2019t have enough time to rest after the North American hard-court summer.<\/p>\n<p>Panatta was part of the last Italian team to win the World Cup of tennis back in 1976 &#8211; also winning the French Open that year &#8211; and he wasn\u2019t happy with Sinner\u2019s decision to rest instead of representing his country.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Support fearless journalism<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Read The Daily Express online, advert free<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Get super-fast page loading<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/logo\/logo-premium-subscription.png\"><\/p>\n<p> <strong> Don&#8217;t miss&#8230; <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>WTA &#8216;not supportive&#8217; of controversial Russian event as players face no penalties[STATEMENT] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Next Gen Finals stars forced to change ends mid-game as umpire left confused[RECAP] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Rafael Nadal set to &#8216;travel to Australia&#8217; in major update to comeback plans[UPDATE] <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/5090630.jpg?r=1701246224985\"><\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, tennis players are businesses and, as such, they only think about profit, especially those around them, forgetting history and feelings,\u201d he said of Sinner.<\/p>\n<p>Referencing an Italian Moto GP rider, the former player added: \u201cHe had already given up on the Olympic Games, today he says no to the Davis Cup. Jannik is tired? [Francesco] Bagnaia, three days after the accident, was already on the bike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sinner was able to prove his doubters wrong when he proved to be the squad\u2019s MVP during Davis Cup Finals week. The world No 4 also made waves in his home country during the ATP Finals, which were staged in Turin. He beat Djokovic in the group stage before they faced a rematch in the final where the world No 1 was able to defeat the home favourite.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/tennis\/1840221\/Novak-Djokovic-Jannik-Sinner-Davis-Cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Jannik Sinner\u00a0has been told that Novak Djokovic \u201cfears\u201d him after the Italian saved three match points to beat him in the recent Davis Cup semi-final. <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/tennis\/novak-djokovic-fears-sinner-as-ex-french-open-champ-makes-drastic-u-turn\/\" title=\"Novak Djokovic &#8216;fears&#8217; Sinner as ex-French Open champ makes drastic U-turn\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Novak Djokovic &#039;fears&#039; Sinner as ex-French Open champ makes drastic U-turn - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/tennis\/novak-djokovic-fears-sinner-as-ex-french-open-champ-makes-drastic-u-turn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Novak Djokovic &#039;fears&#039; Sinner as ex-French Open champ makes drastic U-turn - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jannik Sinner\u00a0has been told that Novak Djokovic \u201cfears\u201d him after the Italian saved three match points to beat him in the recent Davis Cup semi-final. 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