During the ATP Finals matchup between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, former French Open Winner Adriano Panatta called out Djokovic for his disgraceful behaviour.
In the round-robin match of the ATP Finals’ Green Group, 24-time Grand Slam Champion Novak Djokovic was against the local boy Jannik Sinner. With a clear dedication and a little help from the crowd, Jannik was proving to be a losing battle for Novak.
It was when Djokovic was trying his level best to stop Jannik’s momentum using toilet breaks and physio meetups. He tried to stop the game on multiple occasions to ultimately get on Jannik’s nerves.
But the 22-year-old Italian was completely calm and was enjoying each and every moment of this thrilling match. This composed attitude ultimately was rewarded as Sinner won the match 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 and ended World No.1’s 19-match winning streak.
During the match, Former French Open winner Adriano Panatta was commentating live. Being an Italian, he was biased towards Jannik Sinner. Even so, he has not been a big fan of Djokovic anyway. He has targeted the World No. 1 on multiple occasions for his dirty tricks.
And he didn’t hesitate even yesterday as Novak was trying to put a stop to Jannik’s momentum during their match. Novak first asked for a toilet break and soon after he asked for his physio to do a check on him.
Seeing this Pattano was infuriated and took a jab at the Serbian on the live TV. He stated how Novak likes to play it dirty when he is on the losing end. He even gave comparisons of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to contrast the situation.
“Have you ever seen Federer or Nadal behave the way Djokovic did tonight? He would have bet anything that he would try for the match to break the rhythm, he always does. First the bathroom, then the physio, he tries everything. I don’t like that attitude at all, thank goodness Sinner doesn’t care, he stays there calmly.”
-Adriano Panatta (Source: Punto de Break)
Adriano Panatta says Federer & Nadal would never behave the way Novak Djokovic did against Jannik Sinner:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 15, 2023
“Have you ever seen Federer or Nadal behave the way Djokovic did tonight? He would have bet anything that he would try for the match to break the rhythm, he always does.… pic.twitter.com/9dsiv2AOZt
“I dislike Novak Djokovic” -Adriano Panatta
Even before Novak Djokovic‘s match with Jannik Sinner, Adriano Panatta has been a Djokovic hater at heart. He has always disliked his court manners and his style of play.
And Adriano is one of the fearless ones who never stop themselves from speaking their mind. One such occurrence was in 2022 when he yet again compared the World No.1 with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to showcase how much of a bad influence he is on Tennis.
He says, “Nothing personal but I dislike him, I’m a bit unpleasant with all the statements he made in the last two years. He hasn’t got one right.”
Even though Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest of all time in the sport, he has always been in the light of controversies for his statements or behaviour. However, none of this changes the incredible statistics he has on the paper.
