Novak Djokovic labelled a 'thirsty cannibal' after ATP Finals triumph over Jannik Sinner
The Italian media has reacted to Novak Djokovic's victory over Jannik Sinner to win the ATP Finals.
Novak Djokovic has been dubbed a ‘thirsty cannibal’ by the Italian media after defeating Jannik Sinner to win the ATP Finals on Sunday. The World No 1 won the tournament for a record seventh time by defeating the Italian starlet in straight sets.
His triumph in Turin helped Djokovic cap a remarkable year. The 36-year-old won three of the four Grand Slams and finished as the runner-up in a fourth major at Wimbledon.
The Italian media has pointed out that Sinner would have avoided Djokovic had he failed to beat Holger Rune in the group stage. The 22-year-old sensationally beat Djokovic, and the Serb would have gone out of the tournament if Sinner then lost to Rune.
However, despite appearing to struggle with a back injury against Rune, Sinner went on to defeat the 20-year-old, meaning Djokovic stayed in the tournament.
Italian publication Gazzetta hailed Djokovic as a ‘thirsty cannibal’ and pointed out that he was never going to lose against Sinner again. Djokovic has never lost against the same opponent twice at the ATP Finals.
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They instead appear to criticise Sinner for naivety in not giving in to Rune despite his back issues. The newspaper uses a line to reinforce the fact that elite athletes will not allow anything to get in the way of success, but here it was perhaps to Sinner’s detriment.
Djokovic ultimately went on to beat Sinner to cap off an incredible year, winning 6-3 6-3. There is now little that the year-end No 1 has not achieved in his career, but he is targeting a first Olympic gold in Paris ahead of 2024.
Asked what his ambitions are for next year, Djokovic said: "Well, you can win four Slams and Olympic gold."
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He added: "I have always the highest ambitions and goals. That's not going to be different for the next year, that's for sure. The drive that I have is still there.
"Motivation, especially for the biggest tournaments in sport, is still present. For me, obviously those are Grand Slams and Finals, and next year hopefully also Olympic Games."
Sinner reflected after the match: "I think today [Djokovic] played really, really good, especially in the back of the court. But I think today I was not that sharp in certain moments. I felt like also that I dropped this little bit physically. When you drop a little bit against the best player in the world, he makes it look like it's a big difference."
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