Jannik Sinner makes two shock decision as he faces daunting Wimbledon draw
Jannik Sinner’s preparation for Wimbledon has suffered a blow after it emerged physiotherapist Marco Panichi and fitness trainer Ulises Badio have left his team.
The two former members of Novak Djokovic’s camp were surprise additions to Sinner’s team last year, after he was forced to change his set-up following a mistake that led to him failing a doping test in March 2024.
Physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi and fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara keft Sinner’s team after an incident that saw him serve a three-month ban from the sport earlier this year.
The appointments of Panichi and Badio were eye-catching given their connections to Djokovic, but Sky Italy are now reporting that they have left Sinner’s set-up less than a year after joining.
The news comes after the draw was made for Wimbledon, where Sinner will be looking to win his first title at the All England Club.
More Tennis News
Jannik Sinner told he has a knot he ‘must unravel’ in Carlos Alcaraz rivalry
Former world No 1 makes lavish Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner claim
The world No 1 has a decent early draw and will open with what should be a comfortable match against his fellow Italian Luca Nardi, but he is in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper.
Ben Shelton is a big-serving rival in his section of the draw, with Sinner eager to bounce back from his heartbreaking French Open final defeat against Carlos Alcaraz, where he failed to take three match points he held in the fourth set.
Sinner beat Djokovic in three sets in the French Open semi-finals, but former world No 1 Mats Wilander believes the Serbian will fancy his chances of beating the new ‘Big 2’ in men’s tennis on grass.
“I expect Novak Djokovic to play as well or maybe better at Wimbledon than he did at the French Open. Maybe better than he did at the Australian Open because then he got hurt there,” said Wilander, speaking in his role as a TNT Sports analyst.
“So let’s be honest, when he has had to play great, he has played great in all three majors this year. And suddenly, he goes to his favourite surface, most probably his favourite tournament, and he’s nearly taken a set or two from Jannik Sinner at the French Open.
“Jannik Sinner should have won the tournament three sets to one. So if I’m Novak Djokovic, I’m looking at, man, I could have been in the finals. I could have nearly beaten these guys French Open, give me Wimbledon and the grass.
“Maybe he needs one of them to lose before he plays them. It’s a tough deal to play Jannik Sinner in the semifinals and Carlos Alcaraz in the finals, that’s for sure, because it becomes so physical towards the end of the tournament when the court, it doesn’t necessarily slow down, but the bounce is higher and it becomes more like a hard court. It’s very physical.
“That’s the only issue I see for him. But he’s so good when the grass is green, Novak, because the balance in his feet is incredible. And he just plays so smart, and the courts are quite slow.
“So I’m expecting huge things from Novak Djokovic. I think Alcaraz is the favourite, and then I think there’s Sinner, and then there’s Djokovic. And then there come the rest of the group. And that was not the case at the French Open. The French Open, he was in the third group of favourites. Here, he’s easily in the second group of favourites, maybe close to Alcaraz.”
Mats Wilander was speaking to Eurosport which provides coverage of every match at Wimbledon in 11 markets in Europe as well as showing a daily highlights programme on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland.
READ NEXT: Wimbledon men’s singles draw: Djokovic, Sinner, Draper all in top half, Alcaraz handed kinder draw
