Novak Djokovic is feeling the heat at this year's ATP Finals as young and up-and-coming players like Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner aim for him.
That's nothing for Djokovic, as he's been the hunted for most of his career. Early on, he was the one pursuing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and ultimately catching them, so he knows what it's like from both sides.
The Serbian certainly expects the next-gen to step up more and more as they get better and become more experienced. He faced Holger Rune first in Turin and won the match in three sets.
He then faced Jannik Sinner in another three-setter but this time around it was the Italian who came out on top, and it's only going to get worse with time.
It's normal. I mean, I don't think there is anything strange about that. It's normal they want to beat me. I was experiencing for already these kind of feelings that every single player is motivated even more to beat me anywhere I play in the world. That's okay. It's absolutely normal. They want to take the scalp. Jannik did that tonight.
While losing to Sinner isn't ideal for Djokovic, he's not too worried about it because he will lose matches from time to time. You can't win every match, and he was pretty content with the spirit he showed in the battle. He didn't give up but was simply beaten by a better player that day.
It's normal to lose some of the matches like this, but I have to be content with the fight, fighting spirit. I managed to make a comeback from set down, break down in the third set. Played in really challenging and difficult conditions on the court today. I'm proud of the fight that I put in. It just wasn't enough for the win.
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