Novak Djokovic Makes Admission on Rivalry With Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic claimed that it was unfair to compare his rivalries with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Despite getting closer to 40 years of age, the Serbian has managed to stay as one of the best players on the tour and has continued to win titles.

In the past couple of years following the retirement of his two big rivals, the 24-time Grand Slam winner has cultivated a rivalry with the current top two players in the sport.

Djokovic has regularly faced Sinner and Alcaraz in the final stages of tournaments and has put up a good fight in several of their encounters. The 38-year-old has been able to get the better of the Spaniard in the 2025 season, but was unable to cross the hurdle of the Italian during the Grand Slams.

In his exclusive interview with the ATP website, Djokovic was asked about his rivalry with Sinner and Alcaraz and how it stacked against his legendary encounters with Federer and Nadal previously to which he replied:

“I’ve spent most of my career with my two greatest rivals, [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are also my rivals at the moment, but they’re so young. I have 15 years of difference on the tour with them! Our rivalry is a few years old, and I’ve had 20 years of rivalry with the other guys.

“It’s not really comparable, but it’s great that there’s a new big rivalry in our sport between Sinner and Alcaraz. They’ve been playing some incredible matches in the last 18 months.
Hopefully they can keep going, because that’s what our sport needs.”

While Djokovic leads his head-to-head against Alcaraz, Federer, and Nadal, he trails Sinner 4-6 in their matchups, including five consecutive defeats in as many encounters recently.

Ex-World No.1 Showers Praise on Novak Djokovic

Former world number one and 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick complimented Novak Djokovic for sticking to his beliefs and uprooting his family to Greece amid the controversy surrounding the organization of the 2025 Belgrade Open in Athens.

On his recent episode of the Served Podcast, the American great stood by the Serb during a tough time and said:

“I have so much respect for Novak, for if he says something out loud and he believes it, he actually believes it. I mean, he will move to Greece because of his belief system, and uproot everything. So you have to respect that one way or the other.

“There are a lot of people who will say something, and I even might agree with that thing, but then they don’t act on it, so then their respect kind of dies out, because it’s the easy thing to say and a harder thing to do. He does the harder thing. He acts what he says all the time.”

The ATP 250 event, which was previously held in Belgrade, was relocated to the Greek capital in the 2025 season, citing logistical issues.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Nov 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Tennis section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.