Novak Djokovic is all set to make his much-awaited return to the court at the Italian Open. The veteran had been out of action for almost two months due to a right shoulder injury that he had sustained after his R16 exit against Jack Draper at the Indian Wells Open. Djokovic will enter Rome as the third seed, and he did not shy away from making his feelings known on the world number one Jannik Sinner, who is on a roll.

The Italian Jannik Sinner is the favorite to win his home event. Djokovic has backed Sinner to complete the Masters sweep this year, with Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, and Madrid already in hand.

“He will make it for sure, probably again this year. He is very strong, really impressive. Now it is even more difficult to do it. The format of these tournaments has changed. I preferred them before, when the 1000 lasted a week, and only the Slams were two weeks. But that’s how it is, you have to adapt and accept the situation,” he said during a press conference.

Djokovic won the Career Golden Masters in 2018 by winning all the Masters Opens in the calendar year. In 2020, he even completed the Double Golden Masters by doing it again. So clear praise coming from Djokovic will boost Sinner’s confidence.

Djokovic also feels that it has become more difficult to win Masters events ever since they started playing them across two weeks. Earlier, only Grand Slams used to be held for two weeks, while the Masters tournaments got concluded in a week. He pointed out some advantages of the new calendar.

“There are some benefits, including having a day off between your matches, which allows you to recover better. Obviously, it’s still difficult, because you have different surfaces. But Jannik is a very complete player; he has shown it in recent years. There’s a reason why he’s number 1 in the world,” he added.

He is also on a winning streak of 23 matches, with his last singles defeat coming at the Qatar Open, where he bowed out in the quarterfinal to Jakub Mensik. The 24-year-old has picked up his form significantly since the Sunshine Double.

The Italian didn’t even lose a set on his way to the Indian Wells title, defeating formidable opponents like Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal and final, respectively. He wouldn’t lose a set at the Miami Open either and would defeat Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 in the final to capture his second title of the year.

Sinner began his clay-court season in style and lifted his maiden title at the Monte Carlo Masters. He lost only one set across five matches and defeated his rival, Carlos Alcaraz, 7-6, 6-3 in the final. This win also saw him dethrone the Spaniard and take over the rankings for the third time in his career.

This wasn’t all, as Sinner then had a phenomenal run at the Madrid Open. The World No. 1 once again lost just a single set on his way to the final. He then comfortably defeated Zverev 6-1, 6-2 in the penultimate match to become the first player in history to win five consecutive Masters titles.

Sinner’s incredible form on clay has led an iconic tennis coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, to compare him with legends like Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Jannik Sinner’s sensational form sparks comparisons with tennis greats

Mouratoglou, who guided Serena Williams to 10 Grand Slams as her coach, claimed that Sinner is currently more dominant on clay than Djokovic was even during two of his strongest seasons. The years that he took into account were 2011 and 2015, where the Serb won three and two clay titles, respectively.

“Now, if you look at the two years when Novak had the same kind of dominance (as Sinner): 2011 and 2015. In both cases, Novak didn’t win Roland Garros. But there is a big difference. I think that Jannik’s game for clay is better than Novak’s game for clay. Jannik plays with way more margin over the net. I think the quality of his ball is different, which is so important on clay. That brings even a little plus to him,” he said in a video on Instagram.

Mouratoglou also believes that Sinner is the clear favorite to win the upcoming French Open as well. He claimed that the Italian’s chances of winning the Grand Slam are comparable to those of Rafael Nadal, who clinched the title a record 14 times. He further noted that Alcaraz’s absence from the tournament boosts Sinner’s chances of winning his first-ever Roland Garros title.

“I think the chances of Sinner winning Roland-Garros can’t be higher. For me, they are comparable to Rafa’s throughout his career. It’s not for the same reasons, because Rafa was unbeatable on clay thanks to his style of play. Jannik has so much margin on all surfaces, except against Carlos. And Carlos is absent,” he stated.

Will Sinner be able to continue his winning run on the clay-courts of Rome, or will his unbeaten streak come to an end in his home event? Let us know your predictions in the comments!