“Would be fascinating” – Jannik Sinner must “push” Novak Djokovic at Australian Open 2024 to prove his prowess, suggests tennis journalist

Tennis journalist Matt Roberts has suggested that Jannik Sinner needs to "push" Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open 2024 to prove his prowess.

Both Djokovic and Sinner have been drawn into the mix for the Australian Open men's singles event, scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 14. The Serb leads the top half after having received the top seed and Sinner is starting his fifth campaign Down Under as the fourth seed.

Matt Roberts, an announcer at The Tennis Podcast, recently voiced his wish to see the Italian overcome the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Happy Slam. He said:

"I just think it would be fascinating and look it might be a disappointment, Novak might beat him in straight sets [but] I don’t think it would be, I would have high hopes." (From 29:47 to 30:12)

Sinner registered his first and second victories over Djokovic at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup, respectively, in November 2023. Roberts, however, opined that the World No. 4 needs to "push" the Serb at the Australian Open event to earn his spurs.

"I want to know what the Davis Cup meant, I want to know what the ATP Finals last season meant you know when Jannik got those wins over Novak. There was a considerable step up in his level of performance, he was incredible in both of those matches saving three straight match points at the Davis Cup, doing to Novak we have not seen someone do before," he said.

"But there was always that question of, ‘Okay, I need to see it in a Slam’, and I want that data, I want to know whether Jannik Sinner can bring his best and push Novak truly on Novak’s favorite court in this world. Then we would have learned so much about Jannik," Roberts added.

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Novak Djokovic maintains a lead of 4-2 in his head-to-head record with Jannik Sinner

Novak Djokovic greets Jannik Sinner

Novak Djokovic maintains a healthy lead of 4-2 over Jannik Sinner in their head-to-head record. Notably, he's 2-0 up against the Italian at the Grand Slams.

The Serb first faced and defeated Sinner in the year 2021 at the Monte Carlo Masters. He raced to a 6-4, 6-2 win on the back of five breaks of his opponent's serve. His second success over the 22-year-old came in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.

In 2023, the 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated Sinner at the London Major again. Most recently, he prevailed over his rival in straight sets in the summit clash of the ATP Finals.