by Vanni Gibertini

We meet Simone Vagnozzi on the lawn of the Hard Rock Stadium at 2.30 pm, just after Jannik Sinner has finished his training session with Marton Fucsovics on Court 12. Sinner will be taking on Laslo Djere in his first match in Miami so it’s a chance to speak about his excellent first part of season, the semifinal in Indian Wells lost against Alcaraz, and his expectations for the next weeks. 

How does Sinner’s team evaluate the performance and result obtained in Indian Wells?

 We are definitely happy. He has been very consistent in the last period, at Australian Open, Rotterdam and Montpellier. In Indian Wells he reached the semi-finals and played a very close match with Alcaraz, who then went on to win the tournament. This means that we are on a good path and that we must continue working hard without easing pressure because our ultimate goal is not to get to the semifinals but to try and win one of these tournaments.

Speaking about the match with Alcaraz, in a match that seems to be becoming a tennis classic, what could have been done differently?

Surely the first set could have gone either way, and if Jannik had won that first set maybe the match could have taken a different direction. Looking back, we could have done something more, although we cannot reveal our moves for the future. The service was an important feature of the match, but not the only key. I don’t think Jannik lost the first set just due to the serve, because if we analyze the details, at the end Jannik won more points than Alcaraz, so you can’t win more points if you are serving badly.

Jannik had a few chances, but as in the past with Alcaraz the match took a turn in a few points. And we must also take into account that Carlos comes from more important experiences, he has won a Slam, three Masters 1000, so even if he is younger he is probably more ready to play this kind of matches. Alcaraz is ahead at the moment, but if we get to play against him, we stand a chance.

Sinner often remains far behind the baseline to return serve: do you think this position may have impacted the result of the match with Alcaraz, since also in the final against Medvedev, who stands even further back than Jannik, he took full advantage of this position?

I don’t think Sinner stands so far back. For example, on the second serve he always moves forward, at least in 95% of cases. He has worked on this aspect. On the first serve it depends on the player he’s facing, but I don’t think his position is so far back, it’s a bit more like Djokovic’s position.

We were talking about a path with Jannik, and also when we talked to him in Indian Wells it was clear he is aware that it will take at least another couple of years before reaching his full physical maturity. What benchmark do you use to understand where you stand and what is your point of arrival?

Since last year we have embarked on a new path with Jannik, adding new elements, technical, tactical and physical, and this path needs time to be completed. If we make a comparison with Alcaraz, he is two years younger, but he has been doing the same things since he was 15, so at the moment he is more complete. Jannik needs a little more time, although no one knows exactly when his development will be completed. I am sure, however, that in 2-3 years Jannik will be physically stronger than he is now. We must not overdo it, we must not risk, we must do everything at the right time, and I am convinced that this path will yield important results.

The same considerations can be made about Jannik’s serve: the stats tell us that it’s improving, the direct points with the service, aces and winning serves, are rising. Obviously there will be days when he will just serve 50%, but the important thing is that during the year, considering 60-70 matches, the numbers show he’s growing.

When you say that “Alcaraz has always played the same way since he was 15, what do you mean exactly?

If you watch a match of Alcaraz when he was 15 years old you see that he could do more or less all the things he does even now: he plays dropshots, he comes to the net, he does serve and volley; it’s a path he is been completing over time.

So he got there sooner? Or was he just born like this?

Well, we’re talking about a phenomenon. At 19 years old, nobody played like that, not even the all-time greats, such as Djokovic, Rafa or Federer. No one was as complete as he is when they were 19 years old.

So now that his game is already so complete will it be difficult to improve?

He is surely going to improve, and be at the top for many, many years. But we have to focus on Jannik, trying to make him the best player possible. And that’s what we’re trying to do.

Both Carlos and Jannik said that playing against each other will make them better players. Each match seems like the next move in a chess game. Is it a feeling you share as well?

I think so, but we do the same with all the players. Every time you play a match you try to introduce elements that can unsettle your opponent, and your opponent does the same. Then of course Carlos, Jannik, and even Musetti are the most prominent young players so these things are more noticeable.

Casper Ruud is looking to kickstart his season in Miami after winning his opening round against Ilya Ivashka 6-2 6-3.

The Norwegian has yet to win back-to-back matches this season as he has struggled for form after an outstanding 2022 season.

Ruud will be hoping to break that pattern in Miami this week and made a good start with a convincing victory over Ivashka.

The world number four encountered similar problems last year but produced an impressive tournament in Miami to reach his first Masters 1000 final.

That would kickstart Ruud’s season which saw him reach two Grand Slam finals and the final at the ATP Finals.

Now Ruud is hoping to do the same as he searches for Miami momentum this week, “I want to believe one match will turn it around but there are still a lot of matches to be played with a lot of good players left in the tournament,” Ruud told the ATP website.

“It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve played a match after taking an early loss in Indian Wells. I worked hard and came into Miami with great memories from last year.

“Last year I won’t say I turned around my year here because I won Buenos Aires, but then I had an injury that kept me out for two to three weeks and then I lost early in Indian Wells.

“When people asked about my expectations I said I just wanted to have a good finish to the hard-court season and I made the final. So I’m just going to try to win some matches again, not think about what [points] I have to defend and just try to get some momentum.”

Ruud, who is now 5-5 for the season, will look to win back-to-back matches for the first time this season when he takes on 26th seed Botic Van De Zandschulp on Sunday.

Zverev Stunned, Rune and Dimitrov Advance

However one top seed wasn’t so lucky to advance in Miami as Alexander Zverev suffered a crushing 6-0 6-4 defeat to Taro Daniel.

Daniel earned his second top 20 win of the season over an underwhelming Zverev, who will now head to the clay court season.

There was also wins for Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov respectively although the latter had to come from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets.

Holger Rune will now play 31st seed Diego Schwartzman while Grigor Dimitrov sets up a mouth-watering clash with 10th seed Jannik Sinner.

Stefanos Tsitsipas admits that he is benefitting from Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev’s recent success ahead of the Miami Open.

Tsitsipas had a good start to the season himself after reaching the Australian Open final before losing to Novak Djokovic.

However since then Tsitsipas’ form has tailed off as he continues to manage injuries.

The Greek has a lot of work to do to turn his form around ahead of the clay court season after his last set tiebreak defeat to Jordan Thompson in the second round of Indian Wells.

Tsitsipas’ turbulent form comes at a time where his nearest rivals are achieving great success in the tour with Carlos Alcaraz winning Indian Wells last week.

Meanwhile Daniil Medvedev was on a 19 match winning streak before losing the final at Indian Wells to Alcaraz.

Speaking to the media Tsitsipas says he is using Greek philosophy to help him believe that his rivals success will translate to his game, “I’m happy for them,” Tsitsipas told Tennis Infinity.

“I believe in the message of ubuntu [a philosophy that supports collectivism over individualism]…by having others be good, [to] sort of witness greatness of others around me, I am also allowing myself to become better too.

“I believe in that message and I think the fact that they’re doing well is benefitting me too and it’s giving me a clear, better view of how I should approach my game.”

Tsitsipas will be positive that their success will benefit his game at the Miami Open where he is the second seed.

The opening match for Tsitsipas will be fellow one-handed backhander Richard Gasquet with their head-to-head tied at 1-1.

Ahead of the contest Tsitsipas admitted that he is getting closer to being pain free, “Everything is getting better and I’m heading toward the right direction,” Tsitsipas said.

“[I hope] to play pain free and just be able to step out there and show something different than Indian Wells because Indian Wells was a big struggle…I hope I get to play with more of an element of fun on the court and not think too much about my arm.”

The match will take place on Saturday as Tsitsipas looks to build momentum towards his Monte-Carlo title defence.