Novak Djokovic’s Miracle: Former British Champion Discovers His Starting Point, Inspiring Jannik Sinner.

Jannik Sinner is the player of the year in 2024 so far and former British No 1 Tim Henman has identified the moment he began to realise his potential.
Sinner won his first Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open in January, as he beat world No 1 Novak Djokovic in a one-side semi-final that led some observers to conclude we had witnessed a moment that ended the Serbian’s dominance of the men’s game.

Sinner has gone on to back up his win in Melbourne with an ATP 500 title in Rotterdam and the 22-year-old Italian has backed that up with some sparkling performances at the Indian Wells Masters, where he has moved through the rounds with ominous ease.

Ahead of his semi-final clash with Carlos Alcaraz, Henman has looked back at the rise of Sinner as he picked out two wins against Djokovic at the back end of 2023 as the key moment in his development.
“If you wind the clock back with Sinner, he has just been trending in the right direction,” said Henman as he assessed a player who is unbeaten in his 18 matches in 2024.

“He team around him, his ball striking has been fantastic, the physical side of things he has gone stronger and faster.
“All of those pieces of the jigsaw have started to come together at the end of last year.

“I was in Turin (ATP Finals) and his performance was just incredible as he beat Djokovic. Then he beat him again in the Davis Cup.

“You just sensed he had the opportunity to set up in 2024 and the proof is in the pudding. He is the player to beat right now.”

Sinner’s move to change the position of his feet and ball toss on his serve was a switch that was unusual for a player who was already in such a lofty rankings position.
Yet it has reaped huge rewards and Henman suggests the improvement in that shot has changed Sinner’s entire gameplan.

“It was a pretty bold move to make that change on his serve,” added Henman.
“Now he is getting better all the time. When you are holding serve comfortably, it frees you up to be a little more aggressive on your opponent’s serve.

We all know about his ball striking. I don’t think there is anyone who hits it harder on both wings.

“You look at him physically and there is no doubt he is stronger. He is playing brilliant tennis and it was take a fantastic performance to stop this run.”

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova also gave her views to Sky Sports Tennis, as she also believes Sinner’s confidence exploded after his wins against Djokovic.
“He beat Djokovic in the ATP Finals and then Davis Cup. He knew he beat Novak Djokovic, the world No 1, twice in three tires and then he carried it through to the Australian Open,” said nine-time Wimbledon champion Navratilova.

“Then he played him in Australia and played a perfect match. Novak didn’t have a break point and that has never happened in a major.
“Now Sinner is just so confident that even when he doesn’t play well he wins. He’s so confident.

“He knows he’s covered all the basis with fitness, the preparation, the technique and the tactics. He has grown so much as a tennis player. He really is the complete player now.”

With Djokovic long since gone from Indian Wells after his shock defeat against Luca Nardi, Sinner is setting his sights on extending his winning head-to-head record against Alcaraz in his semi-final.

“Yeah, Carlos, it’s always fun to play with him. We are good friends off the court. On the court, we just try to give 100 per cent, no,” Sinner said.
“I think we have a good attitude on court. Usually the matches are good.

“Last year against him, especially here on this court, I struggled a lot. He played much better than me, which then two weeks after I played Miami against him where I won, so, you know, let’s see.