Jannik Sinner’s coach reveals Novak Djokovic’s advice that left ‘a big impression’ on the Italian
Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has recalled how Novak Djokovic candidly broke down the Italian star’s game after the pair’s match at Wimbledon in 2022.
Having lost four of his first five encounters with Djokovic, Sinner holds a 5-4 head-to-head lead against the Serbian legend after winning the last four matches. Sinner, the current world No 1, defeated Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) in the French Open semi-finals earlier this month.
The duo’s second meeting came in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, with Djokovic prevailing 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The match came shortly after Cahill joined Sinner’s coaching team.
Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Cahill revealed he asked Djokovic for his thoughts on Sinner’s game after that Wimbledon clash.
“I’ve got to say, one of the players that I tapped on the shoulder — he (Sinner) lost to Novak a couple of years ago at Wimbledon in five sets. Won the first two sets, Novak came back and ran away with it,” explained the Australian.
“Novak got used to his ball, got used to the shape, got used to the pace and then just locked in, like Novak does, and doesn’t miss. And won the last three sets reasonably easily.
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“And I saw Novak, and he’s always great with this, he’s always been incredible when you tap him on the shoulder. And I said, ‘Hey listen, I’ve just started with Jannik, don’t tell me anything you don’t want to tell me, but can I ask what you were feeling out there?’ And he was incredible.
“He basically said, ‘Hey listen. Good luck with working with him. Hits the ball great, but there’s no variation. So you know, there’s no shape on his shot. There’s no height over the net. Doesn’t come to the net. He’s not trying to bring me in, I know that he returns well, but he’s not attacking my serve on the return of serve.
“So he went through his whole game and broke it down. It wasn’t like it was revelations to what we didn’t know about Jannik and what we were trying to change in his game.
“But when you take that conversation and sit down with a young man like Jannik Sinner and say,’ Hey, listen, I just spoke to Novak and this is what he thinks’, that leaves a big impression on a young player. So for Jannik it’s: ‘Right, give it to me. Let’s start doing these changes’.”
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