The coach of Jannik Sinner has praised the tennis star for how he has dealt with recent setbacks on the court.
Simone Vagnozzi, who has been coaching the world No.1 since 2022, admits the French Open final was a bitter pill for the team to deal with. Sinner was on the verge of claiming his first Roland Garros title after leading Carlos Alcaraz to two-sets-to-love and then having three match points in the fourth set. However, he was unable to seize his opportunities and ended up losing after nearly five-and-a-half hours of play.
Sinner has yet to win a title since returning to the Tour from a 90-day suspension for an anti-doping violation. At his comeback tournament in Rome, he lost in the final to Alcaraz. More recently, in Halle, he was stunned in the second round by Alexander Bublik in what was his first loss to a player ranked outside the top 20 since 2023.
“I won’t hide the fact that it wasn’t easy to accept the defeats, especially Paris, because Rome was, after all, the first tournament after three months,” Vagnozzi said during an interview with Rai Radio 2.
“With Roland Garros behind us, I can say that all of us today have even more respect for Jannik than before, for how he dealt with the disappointment.
“Then we mustn’t forget that in the end, it’s just a tennis match and that we are privileged to do this job.”
Sinner will be looking to bounce back at Wimbledon where he seeks to become the first man from his country to win the singles title. He has reached the quarter-finals or better in his past three appearances at the Grand Slam. It is the only major event he has yet to play a final at.
“The first impressions are positive. We’re working to find the right energy to get through the first round,” Vagnozzi said of Sinner’s arrival at Wimbledon this year.
“We settled into one of those houses very close to the club… It takes us ten minutes to get [to the AELTC]; we first decided whether to have one or two tennis sessions each day.
“Today (Thursday), for example, we will finally be able to play on Centre Court, an opportunity that was once inaccessible to everyone; Medvedev will be there, and the same concession is being made to Djokovic and Alcaraz. It’s for a select few; clearly, the world number one has some advantages, while the others arrive and ask, ‘Where do I play?’.
Another person overseeing Sinner’s progress on the Tour is co-coach Darren Cahill who has also been part of the team since 2022. The Australian has also previously worked with Simona Halep, Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi.
Cahill is expected to retire from coaching at the end of this season after more than 20 years on the Tour. Although Vagnozzi is still hoping he might change his mind.
“It would be wonderful to start again with him by our side, an advantage in terms of staff continuity that would be very beneficial. Yes, we’re trying, maybe with a few jokes here and there, we’ll see…” He said.
Sinner is aiming to become the first man to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the same season since Novak Djokovic in 2021.
