Novak Djokovic has opened up about his struggles with finding the right support during his early tennis days. He said that it prompted him to guide Jannik Sinner.An interviewer told the 24-time Grand Slam champion during the 2025 Six Kings Slam that Sinner had credited his feedback and guidance after his quarterfinal win over the Italian at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships for his ascend to World No. 1. He asked Djokovic if any of his rivals had done the same for him to which the former World No. 1 replied:"Of the greatest rivals? No, nobody has done it for me. Only when I was young and we had the same coach, Ivan Ljubicic, who was No. 3 in the world and in that part of my career I was in the Top 100. I had the same coach as him Riccardo Piatti, Italian. But others didn't." [translated from Italian].Piatti has taken some of the top players including Milos Raonic and Richard Gasquet under his wings and coached Novak Djokovic from 2004-2005. Interestingly, he has also coached Jannik Sinner during his formative years until 2022.Djokovic elaborated on his reason for choosing to guide Sinner and continued:"Why I did it? I did it because I create [pauses] that it's something that is natural. Something that for me is logical. If someone asks me something I have to be honest and for me I understand that others maybe don't want to share. However for me it's a pleasure."The World No. 1 and 5 last met on court on the ATP tour at this year's Wimbledon semifinals where Sinner won in straight sets. Off the tour, their last encounter was at the Six Kings Slam two days ago where Sinner defeated Djokovic in the semifinals.Novak Djokovic jokes on getting his "a** kicked" by Jannik Sinner in Six Kings SlamNovak Djokovic(left) and Jannik Sinner(right) at the 2025 Six Kings Slam. Image: GettyThe 2025 Six Kings Slam began on October 15 with a highly anticipated semifinal clash the next day between the former and the current World No. 1s. However, it turned out to be a one-sided affair with Jannik Sinner defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-2 in little over an hour.In an on-court interview after the match Djokovic praised his opponent and joked:"The love of the game and the passion are there. Excuse my language, but it's never pleasant when someone kicks your butt like that on the court. But it's incredible to be able to keep playing at a high level."Sinner will next meet Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the exhibition event on Sunday, October 18.