Jannik Sinner’s French Open defeat was ‘hard to accept’, according to coach Simone Vagnozzi
Simone Vagnozzi, one of two coaches within the Jannik Sinner team, has admitted that the French Open final loss was ‘not easy’, but that the Italian’s grass-court sensations are positive.
The world No 1 was defeated in a historic French Open final by Carlos Alcaraz, with Sinner having held three championship points in the fourth set, before falling in the fifth set.
It was the first Grand Slam showpiece clash between the two, one that turned out to be the longest-ever final at the Parisian Grand Slam.
Vagnozzi – who has been working as a coach, alongside Darren Cahill, for Sinner since 2022 – opened up in his first interview since the loss.
“He’s fine, we arrived in London a couple of days ago, we are training, and the first sensations are good,” Vagnozzi stated, in an interview with Ubitennis.
“Jannik is training hard, we hope to put in the right ‘fuel’ to get to the first round.
“I won’t hide the fact that it wasn’t easy, especially after Paris, because in Rome it was after all the first tournament in three months, and we arrived with a lot of doubts. It was a slightly ‘sweeter’ defeat [against Alcaraz in Rome].
“The one in Paris weighed a little more, but after that final I can say that all of us today feel even more respect than before for Jannik, for what he gave and for how he fought. The day itself is certainly hard to accept, but the next day you understand that, even if it is a very important match, in the end there is only a tennis match left.”
Most recently, Sinner participated in the ATP 500 tournament in Halle, losing in his second-round match to Alexander Bublik – his first tournament loss prior to the quarter-final since October 2023.
Nonetheless, the three-time Grand Slam champion has shown consistent results at Wimbledon, reaching the quarter-finals in 2022 and 2024, as well as a semi-final appearance in 2023.
“At a time like the present, with everything that is happening in the world, we must not forget that we are privileged to be there: we must enjoy it,” analysed the Italian coach.
“We live together 24 hours a day, so if there were not this harmony, it would be difficult to achieve these results. We need to find this team spirit, where Jannik is obviously the main actor.
“He is the one who makes the difference, we have to be there to give him a hand, supporting him in difficult moments and making him feel calm when everything goes well. It is important to understand how to best manage the days and understand when to give him perhaps a few days of rest. Then all of us team members do what we like, we do it with the right spirit.”
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Many who watched the French Open men’s singles final commented that it was Alcaraz who had garnered much of the crowd’s support, aiding him in the fifth set – something Vagnozzi also remarked upon.
“There is always this rivalry between France and Italy, Alcaraz was also a bit ‘smart’ in bringing the public to his side, he was down two sets to zero and needed energy,” said Vagnozzi.
“He was good at managing it in this way, but let’s not forget that two weeks earlier, he had all of them cheering against him.
“We cannot stick only to cheering. Then there are times when it’s also nice to play with the cheering against, it gives you that extra motivation. I think the cheering was more decisive for Alcaraz than penalizing for Sinner.”
