Bartoli quotes - 'an improved version of Djokovic? to die laughing.'

Former French women’s tennis player Marion Bartoli has lambasted fans and pundits who claimed that Italy’s Jannik Sinner is an ‘improved’ version of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. The 23-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, along with the likes of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

On the other hand, Djokovic is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles. Recently, Sinner has been the most in-form player in men’s tennis. He won the recently concluded Shanghai Masters, where he got the better of Djokovic in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-3.

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After securing his seventh title this season, some quarters from within the tennis community started to call Sinner and ‘improved version’ of Djokovic. Those comments did not go down well with one-time Grand Slam winner Bartoli who responded by saying: "What? An improved version of Djokovic? To die laughing. It's still incredible, this culture of the moment, of the instant,” she said.

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Djokovic has had a rather mixed 2024 season. It is the first time in seven years where the Belgrade-born star failed to win a single Grand Slam. However, despite that, he went on to complete his trophy cabinet after finally winning the Olympic gold medal. He defeated Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the singles category in Paris in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6. On the other hand, Sinner is having the best season of his career. This year, he won his first two Grand Slam titles. His first major title was the Australian Open where he defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Sinner recently lifted the US Open title as well after beating America’s Taylor Fritz in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.