Jannik Sinner beat Djokovic in last year’s semi-final, before the Italian went on to win his first Major title against Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Sinner beat Djokovic again at the Shanghai Masters in 2024, as he scored his third consecutive win over the 37-year-old.

Following his defeat in Shanghai, Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Finals, bringing his season to a close.

Ahead of the 2025 Australian Open, Djokovic was asked to describe Sinner and several other ATP stars, which has already caused some controversy.

Novak Djokovic chooses one word to describe top ATP stars and legends

Djokovic was asked in an interview with GQ, to describe four of the biggest names on the ATP Tour with one word.

First, he was asked about 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer, whom he played 50 times, winning 27 of their encounters.

“Elegance,” he said.

Djokovic was then asked to describe the recently retired Rafael Nadal with one word.

“Tenacity,” he said.

The Serb was also asked about four-time Grand Slam winner, Carlos Alcaraz, who beat him earlier this year in the Wimbledon final.

“Charisma,” said Djokovic.

Finally, he was asked about world number one Jannik Sinner, to which he gave a very interesting response.

“Skiing,” he said.

Tennis fans react to Novak Djokovic’s ‘bitter’ one word description of Jannik Sinner

Djokovic’s description of Sinner was in reference to the Italian’s youth in which he played the winter sport for several years, before focusing on tennis.

Some fans didn’t take the description lightly, however, and have taken to social media to make their feelings heard.

“[Novak] Djokovic totally isn’t bitter about [Jannik] Sinner,” said one fan.

“Not even remotely.”

Another fan was in agreement, as they were similarly unimpressed by Djokovic’s description.

“Djokovic isn’t sour about Jannik, not at all,” they said.

“No way is this real,” added another.

“Skiing?!” exclaimed one fan.

Another fan took to X to theorize why Djokovic was less complimentary towards the two-time Slam winner.

“It’s so funny because you can kind of tell that not only Djokovic but the rest of the big four, have more respect for [Carlos] Alcaraz, because I don’t really see them coming out of their way to praise Jannik or like buddy up or anything,” they said.

The truth is only Djokovic knows how he feels about Sinner, and it’s unlikely that the pair have any bad blood.

They will certainly want to get the better of one another at the Australian Open, however, as the tournament begins on January 12.

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