Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz 'five steps ahead' but state of tennis still depends on Novak Djokovic says Goran Ivanisevic

Goran Ivanisevic backed Novak Djokovic's corner amidst the panic surrounding his current form and lack thereof despite the World No.1 playing minimal tournaments anyway. He also said that while Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner do outweigh the rest, everything still depends on Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic will return in just over a week in Rome after not playing since the Monte-Carlo Masters where he lost to Casper Ruud. He has also barely played all season with only Australian Open, Indian Wells and United Cup appearances under his belt. Albeit all have come with defeats with Djokovic not having a title for the first time in a number of years. Even Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud have seemingly stole a march going into the clay court season.

“Training is one thing, and matches are another. You have to train,” he told Sportal.blic.rs. “I see that many criticise him for perhaps having no motivation, but the man broke all the records, won everything he could win and it is not easy to motivate himself again and again.

“If you don’t train you can’t expect great things. He is a genius and he easily adapts to matches, and if you tie his hands and feet, there are players he will beat, but against these two, I mean Sinner and Alcaraz, it is a little more difficult.

“Jannik and Carlos are currently five steps ahead of everyone else, I’m not just talking about Novak. But I will repeat for the umpteenth time, everything depends on him, how motivated he is, where he will play and how he will appear on the field.”