Jannik Sinner still has a long way to go to catch greats such as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, but he is certainly going about things the right way.
ATP number one Sinner is now a four-time Grand Slam champion, having just clinched his maiden Wimbledon title.
But it is Federer who remains top of the pile for titles at the All England Club, with his eight keeping him one ahead of the seven of Djokovic.
Sinner defeated Djokovic in the semifinals of Wimbledon this year en route to the trophy, with Carlos Alcaraz beaten in the final.
John Isner thinks prime Federer would beat Sinner, but that is unfortunately a match-up that tennis fans will never get to see.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesHow Roger Federer once felt disrespected by Novak Djokovic
Instead, fans can simply appreciate the pair for their phenomenal efforts on the court, along with those of fellow icon Djokovic.
The Serbian was indeed discussed by Sinner’s current coach Darren Cahill all the way back in 2008, who said on ESPN: “I do think that Djokovic made one of those starts where he came onto the tour as a young kid and made the quarterfinals here [at the French Open] a couple of years ago and then defaulted to [Rafael] Nadal.
“He has always had quite a few injury concerns and pulled out of a lot of matches, but it’s also what he says in the media as well.
“For me I think he has been a great personality. For someone to come out and say I want to be number one in the world one day. He has always had great respect for Federer and Nadal and always says great things about them.
Photo by Tim Clayton via Getty Images
“But even in Australia a couple of years ago and he had to play Roger in the fourth round and someone in the media asked him how he was going to go, he said yeah I’m going to beat him.
“He has never had a lack of confidence and I think maybe Federer and Nadal have seen that as a slight show of disrespect. I actually don’t think it is. I think he is a personality and he’s pretty funny. He is quite respectful.”
What Novak Djokovic may be thinking about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Confidence is undoubtedly a quality needed in order to make it to the very top of any sport, and Djokovic had that in abundance starting out.
He was fearless, and quickly became a thorn in the side of Federer and Nadal, eventually overtaking them for Grand Slam titles.
TitlesPlayerAustralian OpenFrench OpenWimbledonUS OpenYears24Novak Djokovic103742008–202322Rafael Nadal214242005–202220Roger Federer61852003–2018Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer Grand Slam titles
The Serbian legend sits at the very top of that list, with his 24 triumphs ahead of Nadal’s 22 and Federer’s 20.
But perhaps his confidence has faded somewhat with the emergence of superstars Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
The tables have now turned for the veteran, who is currently in the backseat as the Italian and the Spaniard take centre stage.
It was inevitable that Djokovic would slow down, but perhaps even he didn’t expect Alcaraz and Sinner to be able to take over from the Big Three so rapidly and so effortlessly.
At the same time, however, it would be foolish to rule Djokovic out of one final Grand Slam success, although it did seem that this year’s Wimbledon was his last real chance to do just that.