Jannik Sinner’s coach serves up ominous warning that the Italian will get even better

Ewan West
Darren Cahill and Jannik Sinner
Darren Cahill and Jannik Sinner during a practice session

Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has sent the ominous message that the Italian star can get even better after he won the Miami Open to continue his stunning 2024 season. 

Cahill feels Sinner will get “stronger, faster” and “a bit smarter” as his “evolution” continues, while identifying a number of areas in his game they have been developing.

Sinner took apart an in-form Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-1 with a masterful display in the final of the Miami Open on Sunday to claim his second ATP Masters 1000 title to add to the 2023 Canadian Open.

The 22-year-old has climbed to a career-high ranking of world No 2 following his third tournament victory in a brilliant start to 2024, having also triumphed at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam.

The Italian holds a 22-1 record so far this year and has lost only three matches since the 2023 US Open in September, where he fell to Alexander Zverev in the fourth round. Since that defeat, Sinner has won five titles, led Italy to Davis Cup glory and also finished as a runner-up at the ATP Finals.

READ MORE: Jannik Sinner highlights a major goal as he makes brutally honest ‘struggle’ admission

In a press conference following Sinner’s stunning performance in the Miami Open final, Cahill was asked how much better Sinner can get given his blistering form.

“From where he is at the moment, right now he’s playing his hand. You can’t sugar-coat it. He’s playing great, and his level today was fantastic. But he can get better,” said the Australian.

“As evolution goes along and you get a little bit older and stronger and faster and get a bit smarter, all those things are going to start to come into his game.

“We have been working on improving his serve, improving his transition game, improving his slice backhand to use it as a changeup shot, improving his direction on his forehand, return of serve. You can go through everybody’s game.

“This generation is privileged to have seen the previous generations push for improvements no matter how old you are. That’s what Jannik will do. So yes, he can get better for sure. But we’ve got to give credit where credit is due. He’s playing terrific tennis at the moment.”

The 58-year-old, who reached a career-high ranking of world No 22 in singles, highlighted the importance of Sinner’s entire team and gave insight into his own role.

“It’s been a pleasure to be involved with him for just under two years now. We have a great team, and so as I have said many times before, Simone Vagnozzi is the main coach of this team. Nothing changes whether or not Simone is here or not. Simone is still the voice,” Cahill explained.

“He and I do a lot of the game planning, a lot of the tactical and technical work, we talk it through, but Simone is still the main voice. He’s largely responsible for what you’re seeing from Jannik and his improvements.

“Together with Umberto, the fitness trainer, we’ve got Giacomo, the physio here, Andrea is the other physio as well. It’s a great Italian team. They are good men, good people. They enjoy every piece of the success with Jannik.

“Jannik, I think around that, feels like he’s covered, he’s well cared for. That’s the most important thing when you have a good team around you.

“For us, for me personally it’s been a little bit different, because my role is a bit different in this particular one compared to my previous coaching roles, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I think the Italians are calling me Papa a little bit on social media.

“I’m kind of the papa of this team as well, overseeing a lot of the decision-making of everything that goes on. It’s been nice to be able to step back a little bit.

“You still have the responsibility, but certainly be able to step back a little bit and watch a great coach in Simone do what he’s been able to do and make a lot of changes to Jannik’s game that have now come to fruition.”

READ MORE: Jannik Sinner’s coach opens up on comparisons with Novak Djokovic’s dominance

Related Articles