Goran Ivanisevic may not be Novak Djokovic's coach anymore but he would still back the Serbian at his best against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
After a slow start to the season for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, some wonder if he is about to be surpassed by his younger rivals. Recently, Djokovic was warned that he is older and slower amid the rise of Alcaraz and Sinner.
Yet, it is important to remember how many times the Serbian has proven his doubters wrong. That is demonstrated by Djokovic becoming the oldest No. 1 in the history of the ATP rankings.
Ivanisevic is among those who still fully believes in Djokovic. However, in a recent episode of The Tennis Podcast, the 2001 Wimbledon champion was also full of admiration for Alcaraz and Sinner, with the Italian receiving particular praise.
"They (Alcaraz and Sinner) are unbelievable tennis players. At the moment I have to say Sinner is the hottest tennis player in the world. He won 25 matches out of 26. He's just unbelievable. He's just playing great. Although, it's interesting, they're different kind of players. They're both very beautiful to watch."
Despite this, Ivanisevic continues to think that Djokovic will triumph against the pair if he is performing at his maximum level.
"These two guys, they're going to have a lot of great matches. But if Novak shows up, I'll always put my money on Novak."
Ivanisevic used Djokovic's Australian open semifinal against Sinner as an example of what can happen if he is not near his best. He also mentioned his Wimbledon final against Alcaraz, which was a much closer contest.
"You saw in Australia this year he was not kind of there and you cannot show up like that against Sinner. Sinner was too good. But in Wimbledon final last year, one or two points, could be a different match. But in the end I have to say Carlos played amazing."
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