"Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic being there for their country this late in the year is incredible" - Andrea Petkovic

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner turning up for national duty at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals soon after their ATP Finals title clash impressed former pros Andrea Petkovic and Rennae Stubbs.

On November 19, Djokovic defeated World No. 4 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match to win a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title. The Serb and the Italian then flew to Malaga for the 2023 Davis Cup Finals the very next day and even met again in the semi-finals.

This time around, Jannik Sinner showed great poise as he staved off three match points at 5-3 down in the deciding set to nab a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory over the 24-time Major winner. The Italian was in sublime form during Italy's entire campaign, winning three singles matches and two doubles matches to ensure his country won their second-ever Davis Cup title.

In that context, Andrea Petkovic and Rennae Stubbs discussed on the latter's podcast how Djokovic and Sinner had gone out of their way to represent their respective countries at the Davis Cup.

Petkovic, who achieved her career-high ranking of World No. 9 in 2011, emphasized how both Djokovic and Sinner had to forego recovering from an arduous 2023 ATP tour season to compete at the Davis Cup Finals.

Petkovic stated:

"I think this we have to stress as much as we can, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic being there for their country this late in the year after having played so much, and I'm sure both of them want to make a splash at winning the Australian Open, is incredible."

"It just comes to show you how important it is for these players that they are really sacrificing a piece of their recovery time in order to be there for their country. You could see it in both their faces how much they were playing and how much they wanted to win."

The 36-year-old Petkovic heaped praise on Djokovic and Sinner for their performance during their Davis Cup encounter, saying:

"Both Novak, who has won literally everything there is to win, and Jannik, both of them just were so determined in this third set to hang in there. It was such a good match it was really good."

"Amazing to me that Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic twice in the space of two weeks" - Serena Williams' ex-coach

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner embrace after their round-robin match at the ATP Finals

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs expressed her surprise at the news of Sinner traveling to the Davis Cup Finals while narrating an anecdote involving Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill.

Stubbs stated on the podcast with Petkovic:

"I remember Darren Cahill telling me, 'Oh no, he's going to play Davis Cup.' I was like, 'Damn, holy cow! Good for him.' And then also Novak, like, good for him to go and play. Both of them to go and play is incredible to me because that extra week or so is as, you know, so important."

Stubbs also praised the Italian youngster for his performance at the Davis Cup, reminding fans that he got the better of Novak Djokovic in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals as well.

"I mean, it's amazing to me that Jannik Sinner, you know, beat Novak twice in the space of two weeks, that's phenomenal to be able to do. First, because you know Novak's the greatest player of all time, but to beat him that way in such an incredibly important match..." she said. "Obviously meant the world to them because they went and played."