Jannik Sinner copies Novak Djokovic with telling statement over Monte Carlo expectations
Jannik Sinner echoed Novak Djokovic's comments ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Jannik Sinner has become the latest player to tame hopes over his Monte-Carlo Masters chances. The world No. 2 is the man to beat this year, lifting three titles and losing just one match. But like Novak Djokovic, he is keeping his expectations surprisingly low at the first clay event of the season.
Although Djokovic is the top seed in Monaco, it’s Sinner who comes in full of form. The 22-year-old recently lifted his third title of the season at the Miami Open, also winning trophies at the Australian Open and Rotterdam. His only loss in 2024 came in the Indian Wells semi-final.
Even Djokovic himself has branded Sinner the best player this year so far. But the man himself isn’t convinced that his winning run will translate at the Monte-Carlo Masters. “The expectations are not that high for this for this beginning of clay,” Sinner said ahead of the tournament.
“The goal is to be ready for Roland Garros and then hopefully Olympics. This is, I guess for all the players the goal, to try to be in top form there.” Sinner has a quick turnaround between Miami and Monte Carlo after lifting the trophy in Florida.
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He dealt with a similar situation well last year, reaching the semi-finals in Monaco after losing in the Miami final. But the world No. 2 is still hesitant to place any expectations on the Monte-Carlo Masters, instead using this week as something of a practice for the rest of the clay swing.
He continued: “We will take this this week as a practice week, playing with matches hopefully, hopefully more than one match but you know, it’s going to be interesting to see. I’m just happy to be here. It’s a special tournament and hopefully I can perform in a good way.”
It comes after Djokovic made similar comments ahead of this week’s Masters 1000 event. The world No. 1 has not played a match in four weeks when he lost to then-world No. 123 Luca Nardi in the third round of Indian Wells.
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He pulled out of the Miami Open and had extra time to practice on the clay, but Djokovic is still being realistic over his chances of doing well in Monte Carlo. “My expectations are not very high, with the way I have been playing this year at the tournaments and also the results that I had in Monaco in previous years were not great, so I keep my expectations low,” he told Eurosport.
Similarly, the 24-time Major winner wants to use this period to help him build his form on the clay before the French Open and the Olympics. Djokovic added: “For me, it is about building my game on clay courts and trying to reach the peak again. For some players like myself, it requires a little more time to reach the top level of tennis.”