"Novak Djokovic hates Jannik Sinner winning" - Fans slam Serb's Australian Open congratulatory message to Italian & Alexander Zverev

Novak Djokovic congratulated Jannik Sinner for successfully defending his title at the 2025 Australian Open and sent an endearing message to Alexander Zverev. This sparked discussions among tennis fans. Many felt that the Serb's message for the runner-up Zverev was more heartfelt than what he wrote for the Italian.

Sinner has been scintillating for the last year and a half. He continued his immaculate ball-striking at the Australian Open where he was defending a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

On the other side was Zverev, who was on the hunt for his maiden Grand Slam win. However, the Italian again proved why he was the World No. 1 and decimated the German 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3.

Novak Djokovic, who had to retire mid-match during his semifinal against Zverev, sent a message of congratulations to both men for their campaigns.

"Sasha , keep believing my friend! You have IT in you," he wrote for Zverev.

"Auguri (Congratulations) Jannik," he wrote for Sinner.

Jannik Sinner's fans didn't take too kindly to the Serb's congratulations message on X. One fan claimed that the 37-year-old wrote congratulations on the bottom on purpose.

"Hahahhaa. He had to put congratulations at the bottom. Because we all know he hates sinner winning," the fan said.

Another fan felt that Djokovic was being salty.

"Do I sense a tad bit of salt, or maybe I’m just overthinking it," the fan felt.

Here are some other reactions from tennis fans.

"I don’t want to be congrats post police, but ….is he congratulating the runner up more than the winner … Nole Nole gotta get ready for that ski trip," a fan quipped.

"sjaksjjs he hates jannik badddd sorry old man he’s snatched your crown in your backyard," a fan opined.

"I'm sorry Novak, Zverev doesn't have it," a fan joked.

"I mean why salty with sinner tho, novak has achieved things no one ever done in this sport. Until sinner can catch up to him I don't see any reason. Guess simply just cuz he's closed to sasha. But sadly he's wrong here, sasha ain't winning sh*t with his mentality and overall game," a fan remarked.

Notably, Alexander Zverev made a huge comparison between the 10-time Melbourne champion and the man who currently holds the Melbourne crown.

"Jannik Sinner is very similar to Novak Djokovic when he was at his best" - Alexander Zverev

Djokovic and Jannik Sinner after the Shanghai Masters final - Source: Getty

During his post-match press conference, Alexander Zverev boldly stated that Jannik Sinner's game was reminiscent of Novak Djokovic's when the Serb was in his prime. Interestingly, the German boasts a 4-3 lead against Sinner and is 5-8 against the 24-time Major champion.

"He's very, very similar to Novak when he was at his best. They barely miss, like barely miss. They make you think like you have to overhit all the time to have a chance in a rally against them. It's very, very difficult to win a point from the back of the court against them, against Novak and him," Zverev said.

Zverev continued further analyzing the similarities between the two stars of tennis. During his winner's press conference, Jannik Sinner was pleasantly surprised upon hearing about this comparison.