Comparisons to Messi and the birth of a new rival. Djokovic at the heart of Davis Cup action. But he won’t play the final

Novak Djokovic is maturing like wine and this season has been one of his most successful ever. That’s also why he has earned comparisons to Messi from Boris Becker. But this week’s Davis Cup events also confirmed that he has grown another huge competitor.

Three Grand Slam titles, a triumph at the Champions Tournament and a successful Davis Cup run for Serbia. That, in a nutshell, is the tennis year 2023 for Novak Djokovic. The thirty-six-year-old tennis player continues to rewrite the tables of historical achievements and pushes further performance highs.

From Boris Becker, the Serbian tennis player has earned comparisons to Lionel Messi, Tom Brady and LeBron James. That is, athletes who reigned supreme in their respective disciplines even at an advanced stage of their careers.

Even at the age of 36, Djokovic was close to winning a calendar Grand Slam. Of the tennis world’s four greatest triumphs, only Wimbledon has eluded him. Becker likens this feat to a feat from another world.

The three-time Wimbledon champion considers the current ATP number one to be one of the greatest athletes of all time. And in this we can certainly agree with him. Would you bet your paycheck on ever seeing a tennis player break Djokovic’s records? Probably not.

Davis Cup final

Djokovic had another great achievement on his hands. As the Serbian number one, he came incredibly close to securing his team’s advancement to the Davis Cup final. He even had three match points in the deciding set against Italy’s Sinner.

However, his fourteen years younger opponent eliminated all of Djokovic’s match points with a great serve, setting himself up for a great finish and eventually winning the set and the match for the Italians.

The two tennis players then faced each other once more on Saturday night. In the doubles, Sinner and his partner Sonege were again more successful and the Serbian team did not advance to the final of the prestigious team competition.

Rival Sinner

The first part of this year was symbolized by the rivalry between Djokovic and Alcaraz. The Spaniard made an incredible run in the clay part of the season and carried his winning form to the All England Club, where he won his second Grand Slam title.

In the final passage of the tennis season, it was Sinner who replaced the Spanish tennis player as the main challenger to Djokovic. The native of South Tyrol played three matches with the Serbian legend during November and left the court as a winner on two occasions.

The Italian defeated Djoker in the Champions Tournament’s main group. Later in the final, the Belgrade native was the winner. But Sinner had the last word again in the aforementioned Davis Cup semi-final match.

The final doubles match was the icing on the cake. The victory and advancement to the Davis Cup final was again enjoyed by the representative of Italy. Yes, Djokovic will enter the next tennis season as number one, but he is certainly aware of the competition named Jannik Sinner.

Sources: ATP, Eurosport