SM
Yemen vs. Saudi Arabia: 7 hrs 8 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Preview: Novak Djokovic vs. Jannik Sinner - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

:Headline: Preview: Novak Djokovic vs. Jannik Sinner - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far:
Sports Mole previews Tuesday's ATP Finals round-robin match between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, including predictions, head-to-head and their tournament so far.
Sports Mole

Assured of a record-extending eighth year-end number one ranking, Novak Djokovic continues the defence of his ATP World Tour Finals crown against Jannik Sinner in Tuesday's top-of-the-table Green group battle.

The reigning champion put Holger Rune to the sword in a three-set spectacular on Sunday, while Sinner delighted the Turin crowd with a two-set beating of Stefanos Tsitsipas.


Match preview

While a seventh ATP Finals title would not go amiss for Djokovic - who would overtake fellow six-time winner Roger Federer to create a category of his own with success in Italy - finishing the 2023 season on his rightful throne at the top of the rankings was the overriding goal for the esteemed Serbian.

Djokovic simply needed to avoid losing all of his matches to deny Carlos Alcaraz - who in turn had to win the tournament without suffering defeat - the top placement, and the 24-time Grand Slam winner needed just one contest to guarantee another year at the summit, although he was made to work extremely hard for his triumph over Rune.

Barely a week on from eliminating the Dane from the Paris Masters - avenging his loss to a then-teenage Rune in the 2022 final - Djokovic recovered from a disastrous second-set tiebreaker and prevailed 7-6[4] 6-7[1] 6-3 in an enthralling three-hour contest, sealing it in style with a 39th winner for a final love hold.

Sitting pretty in second place in the Green group owing to his hard-fought triumph, in which he made just nine errors and struck 10 aces, the 36-year-old old has insisted that an unparalleled seventh year-end title would be a mere "bonus" alongside his number one ranking, and he is now 40-3 at the ATP Finals after winning the opening set.

Not since a round-robin loss to Dominic Thiem in 2019 has Djokovic been bested at the championships after winning the first set - triumphing in 10 such contests since - and if that was not enough, the Serbian is now one match away from 15 top-10 wins in 2023, which would see him set an outright calendar-year record for players aged 35 and over.

Rune was only the second player - after Daniil Medvedev last year - to keep Djokovic on court for over three hours in an ATP Finals contest, but the Turin faithful will certainly not mind another late night if their beloved Sinner can make the clock tick over 180 minutes in Tuesday's crunch meeting.

Two years on from his year-end tournament debut - albeit as an alternate to Matteo Berrettini - Sinner laid down a marker on his proper ATP Finals baptism as a direct qualifier, sinking 2019 winner Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 to surge to the top of the Green group standings early doors.

Ignoring the 2-5 head-to-head record in the Greek's favour, the Italian took just one hour and 25 minutes to stroll to an opening victory, winning 89% of points on his first serve and firing nine aces past a beleaguered Tsitsipas - including a 122mph rocket on match point.

Mixing up devastating attacks with smart defence, Sinner did not concede a single break point to Tsitsipas on the afternoon and hit 21 winners compared to just five unforced errors, and the 22-year-old is now just two wins away from becoming the first Italian male player in the Open Era to clinch 60 victories in a single year.

In addition, Sinner has now prevailed in each of his last five meetings against top-10 opponents - no other Italian man has managed that feat since the ATP rankings were established 50 years ago - but that golden sequence may not count for much if previous results against Djokovic are anything to go by.


Tournament so far

Novak Djokovic:

Round robin: vs. Holger Rune 7-6[4] 6-7[1] 6-3

Jannik Sinner:

Round robin: vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4


Head To Head

Monte Carlo Masters (2021) - Second round: Djokovic wins 6-4 6-2
Wimbledon (2022) - Quarter-final: Djokovic wins 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2
Wimbledon (2023) - Semi-final: Djokovic wins 6-3 6-4 7-6[4]

Meeting once a year since 2021, Djokovic and Sinner will be squaring off on hard courts for the very first time at the top level on Tuesday, although the surface has made little difference to the Serbian's fledgling dominance in this fixture so far.

Indeed, Djokovic has three wins to shout about from three previous showdowns with Sinner, starting with a comfortable Monte Carlo Masters second-round win in 2021 before the world number one suffered a shock beating at the hands of Great Britain's Dan Evans in round three.

Sinner was on the brink of redemption in last year's Wimbledon quarters, establishing a 2-0 lead only to suffer an agonising five-set loss to the eventual champion, who also denied him his first-ever Grand Slam final appearance with a straight-sets success in the final four at SW19 this summer.


We say: Djokovic to win in three sets

With Sinner putting Tsitsipas to the sword in less than half the time Djokovic needed to outlast Rune, the well-rested Italian is sure to make his extended recuperation period worthwhile, and his all-around prowess could create one or two problems for the defending champion.

However, Djokovic and his defensive supremacy always seems to find a way to prevail, and while the Serbian may be pushed all the way against a man 14 years his junior, we still back him to make it two for two and progress to the knockout stages.

body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__528920 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2023-11-14 12:24:53:
html db last update - 2023-11-14 12:24:53 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:
ND
Read Next:
Djokovic wins Rune thriller to seal year-end number one ranking
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Novak Djokovic Jannik Sinner Holger Rune Stefanos Tsitsipas Roger Federer Carlos Alcaraz Dominic Thiem Daniil Medvedev Matteo Berrettini Dan Evans Tennis
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Djokovic wins Rune thriller to seal year-end number one ranking
Haaland nightmare exit? City striker 'sulking' as he prepares to leave Guardiola

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Preview: Chelsea vs. Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

1

PC

Fulham out to end 45-year wait in Chelsea clash

2

FO

Frank potentially dealing with 10 absentees: Brentford predicted lineup vs. Brighton

3

FP

Welbeck, Kadioglu close to returns? Brighton predicted lineup vs. Brentford

4

WK

Preview: Wolves vs. Man Utd - prediction, team news, lineups

5

PW

Could Madueke return to the fold? Chelsea predicted lineup vs. Fulham

6

CM

Man City back on track as Man United disappoint: Premier League GW18 predictions

7

MC

Midfield injury crisis facing Silva: Fulham predicted lineup vs. Chelsea

8

MI

Preview: Bristol City vs. Luton - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PB

Zubimendi who? Reds identify alternative midfielder to boost Slot's title charge

10

ZW


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .