Novak Djokovic misses out on top ATP award in brutal new snub from tennis fans

Novak Djokovic has been brutally snubbed by tennis fans for the 2023 'Fans' Favourite singles player award', beaten out by Italian Jannik Sinner. The award had been taken out by either Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal since 2003 and it was thought it would finally be the year where the Serb earned the accolade as Federer is retired and Nadal failed to feature for almost the entirety of the year.

The 22-year-old won four tour-level titles in 2023, topped off by his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto. He also reached his first major semi-final at Wimbledon and was instrumental in Italy winning its first Davis Cup trophy since 1976.

'SORRY TO HEAR': Tennis world rallies around Chris Evert after sad news

BRUTAL: Thanasi Kokkinakis in sad twist after Nick Kyrgios withdrawal

Sinner boasted a 64-15 tour-level record in 2023 and ended the season at a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings. His fan favourite award will go down well with his loyal fan club known as 'The Carota Boys', who follow Sinner around the world dressed up in carrot costumes, in reference to a changeover in Vienna in 2019 when the Italian downed a carrot. Sinner's win comes a day after Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev were named the Fans' Favourite doubles team.

Despite Djokovic's dominance on the court, it appears he still has yet to earn the love of the fans. His failure to win the award led to humorous reactions from tennis fans, many of whom poked fun at the Serb's failure to secure the win even in Federer and Nadal's absence.

Novak Djokovic 'not friends' with Federer and Nadal

The tennis great recently revealed that he feels left out by Federer and Nadal despite the trio going against one another in many stellar matches across a historic rivalry. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Djokovic said he is desperate to be closer to the pair and would like to be a part of a 'big three'.

"I would really like to," Djokovic said. "I mean, obviously, we didn't get along so well throughout our careers, off the court. And we are not friends because, you know, we're rivals, and it's difficult as competitors to be very close and kind of share and give insights to your life or to how you feel because it could be used against you.

"But we have shared the stage for so many years. And I think the greatest respect is always there, at least from my side, towards them. There's always a huge amount of respect off the court because they have really defined me as the player that I am today. And all my success is also greatly owed to them and to the rivalries that we had."

The debate over who is the greatest men's tennis player of all time (GOAT) is one that tennis fans continue to disagree on. Djokovic holds all the numerical records over Federer and Nadal, including most majors and most weeks spent at No. 1 but some fans argue the style of play and conduct of Federer and Nadal must be taken into consideration in the argument for who is the best to ever do it.

Djokovic believes the debate as a whole is good for tennis and says it is very difficult to compare players across eras. "There's obviously different definitions and opinions and comparing the eras," Djokovic said.

"Whether you take only numbers or stats, it's very difficult to compare obviously an era where you play with a wooden racquet and nowadays. And where they couldn’t travel by plane before so much and we can travel anywhere today and play more tournaments. So it’s all very relative.

"I know fans love it (the GOAT debate). And I think it’s great that there is a big discussion on that because, ultimately, all of us in tennis want more attention. We want more people, more younger generations to come in and get interested in watching tennis, debating about who is the greatest, who has the most titles, or comparing eras and stuff like that."

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.