Novak Djokovic exclusive: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz rivalry is 'good for our sport' ahead of French Open
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Published 12/04/2023 at 07:55 GMT
Novak Djokovic says he enjoyed watching youngsters Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner do battle in Indian Wells and Miami recently, describing their budding rivalry as "good for our sport". Djokovic was unable to compete in the sunshine swing after being denied entry to the USA. He returns to action in Monte Carlo this week, but is not concerned by his lack of recent competitive action.
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A budding rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is "good for our sport", according to Novak Djokovic, who enjoyed watching the two youngsters battle it out as he watched the sunshine swing from afar.
Djokovic was unable to compete at Indian Wells or the Miami Open after being denied entry to the USA due to his Covid-19 vaccination status.
In his absence, Alcaraz and Sinner – 19 and 21 years old respectively – played out two thrillers, the Spaniard triumphing in the Indian Wells semi-finals before losing to his Italian rival at the same stage in Miami.
Djokovic told Eurosport that although he wasn’t spending all his time watching tennis, he has enjoyed seeing a new generation breaking through.
“I got to spend some time with the family and did other things off the court. But I was thinking about tennis, mostly about myself and how I can prepare myself the best possible in order to kick off the clay season in a good manner,” Djokovic said.
“I did follow some of the matches from Indian Wells and Miami, highlights more than the entire match – not much patience for that – but I saw some spectacular points, especially from Alcaraz, Sinner, Medvedev.
“I think it’s a great rivalry that’s coming up between Alcaraz and Sinner – it’s good for our sport.”
Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in January, returns to competitive action this week at the Monte Carlo Masters.
It is his first competitive appearance for more than a month, but the two-time Monte Carlo champion isn’t overly concerned about a potential lack of sharpness.
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“I’m in a pretty similar position to most of the other players, it’s the first event on clay,” he said.
“I did play Adelaide, the Australian Open and Dubai and did pretty solid in the first couple of months of the year.
“Of course, I wish I could’ve played a few more matches in America, it didn’t happen, but that’s OK. I feel good, I’ve trained the last two or three weeks on clay.
“It’s the most dynamic surface in the sport, we know that it takes a bit of time to get the feeling of how to move around properly and construct the point.”
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