'He is the only one who can do it..' - Tennis legend Adriano Panatta compares Jannik Sinner with Novak Djokovic

Italian tennis legend Adriano Panatta recently drew comparisons between newly crowned US Open champion Jannik Sinner and his counterparts, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Panatta even suggested that Sinner shares a similar mentality with boxing icon Mike Tyson. Sinner clinched the US Open title with a convincing straight-set victory over Taylor Fritz, while his rivals Alcaraz and Djokovic were both eliminated in the tournament's first week in New York.

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Sinner being relentless like Mike Tyson

Adriano Panatta highlighted Sinner's aggressive playing style, comparing it to Mike Tyson's unstoppable force in the boxing ring. According to Panatta, Sinner's assertiveness from the beginning of the match sets him apart from his rivals, particularly Carlos and Djokovic. He also sees similarities between Sinner and the formidable form of a prime Spaniard player Carlos Alcaraz.

When discussing Djokovic, Panatta feels that the Serb lacks the same relentless mentality as Sinner. While Djokovic may try to adopt it in the initial sets, Sinner maintains it throughout the entire match. Panatta suggests that if Sinner were to defeat Djokovic several times, it could become a challenging matchup for the Serb, potentially influencing his future in the sport. Panatta also alluded to the historical pattern of a new talent prompting a legendary player's retirement, as seen with Borg retiring upon McEnroe's arrival, and then McEnroe retiring with the emergence of Becker.

Panatta's Take on Sinner: 

"Sinner is the only player who comes onto the court and doesn’t wait. I think of Tyson in the first matches, when he came in and hit until the other fell to the ground. Sinner has this mentality: he plays, then he can even miss a few balls, but he plays the match, he never waits. This is the big difference between him and the others. It’s what Alcaraz does when he is in form, and in fact he is the only one who can beat him."  

Panatta's Take on Djokovic:

"I don’t even think Djokovic can do it, maybe two sets out of three, not three out of five. Sinner never drops, he never does stupid things. In my opinion, if Sinner were to beat him two or three more times in 2024, he would become Djokovic’s nightmare, pushing him towards retirement. History teaches and usually repeats itself. [Bjorn] Borg quit with the arrival of [John] McEnroe, McEnroe retired when [Boris] Becker arrived."

Sinner trails 2-3 to the Olympic champion Novak Djokovic in head-to-head fixtures. He also trailes 2-0 Jannik Sinner.

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