High praise from Novak Djokovic: 4 youngsters who have reminded the Serb of himself ft. Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner
Novak Djokovic is, statistically at least, the greatest tennis player of all time. Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles and spent 419 weeks as the world’s No. 1 player -- numbers that seem well beyond the reach of anybody else.
Hence, the 36-year-old Serb's opinion on anything related to tennis carries a lot of weight. There have been a number of occasions when Djokovic has reserved high praise for a young tennis player. In this article, we will take a look at four such youngsters who reminded the Serb of himself:
#4. Joao Fonseca:
It is not often that a player ranked outside the top-400 gets high praise from the World No. 1. Fonseca, the 17-year-old Brazilian, is still primarily playing in Challengers aside from making sporadic entries into ATP events.
However, he caused a flutter recently by beating clay-court specialist Christian Garin at the Rio Open in February before losing in the quarterfinals. He must have gotten a big boost from Djokovic’s compliments in a recent interview, in which the Serb stated that Fonseca's playing style reminded him of his own.
"I saw him play, he plays really well. He reminds me of my game," Djokovic said.
#3. Dino Prizmic:
Djokovic faced Dino Prizmic, the 18-year-old from Croatia, in the first round of the Australian Open last January. Prizmic managed to take a set off the great man on his favourite hunting ground. Praising Prizmic, the Serb said after the match at a press conference:
Felt like playing myself in the mirror [...] No weaknesses, really. Service is good, can be better. But he is only 18, and has so much time ahead of him," "He did surprise me, credits to Dino for playing an amazing match."
Djokovic's words must have given the young Croatian some confidence. However, he is still ranked a lowly 171st in the world and has not been able to do much on the ATP Tour yet.
#2. Holger Rune:
Rune is one of the most promising youngsters in tennis. He is only 20 and has already broken into the top-10. The Dane has won four career titles, including a Masters 1000 in Paris in 2022. He beat Djokovic in the final of that tournament.
Prior to the final, the Serb heaped praise on Rune, saying in a press conference:
"Kind of reminds me of myself, you know, solid backhand and very good defense and, you know, just competitive, every point leaving his heart and his legs out there on the court. It's nice to see that. I think he's very good for our sport in general."
#1. Jannik Sinner:
Sinner is hot property these days and seems to be able to do no wrong on a tennis court at the moment. He has won his maiden Grand Slam in Australia and a Masters 1000 tournament in Miami this year already.
The 22-year-old Italian faced Djokovic in back-to-back Wimbledon Championships in 2022 and 2023. The Serb managed to win both those matches.
Prior to their quarterfinal clash in 2022, Djokovic said about Sinner at a press conference:
"I kind of see a little bit of myself in his game, as well, from back of the court, playing flat backhands, constantly staying on the back of the line, trying to put pressure on opponents."
Sinner, however, seems to have turned the tables on Djokovic in the past few months. He has beaten the Serb in three of their last four matches, including in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January.