Last Stretch Frenzy In Paris
Read an exclusive interview with Darren Cahill about Jannik Sinner's clay hopes. Read also about Musetti's rise, Boisson's Cinderella story and wise words from Kim Clijsters.
Welcome back! In today’s edition, I’m bringing you an exclusive interview with Darren Cahill, the co-coach (with Simone Vagnozzi) of World No.1 Jannik Sinner, about why he has improved so much on clay, his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, and how going for a lighter schedule the past three years has helped Sinner catch up physically.
Paid subscribers get two other exclusives: with Simone Tartarini, coach of Lorenzo Musetti, and with Kim Clijsters about which players she’d love to face now, why she started a podcast, and how rivalries are the heart of the game. They also get my musings (with players’ quotes) on Jack Draper’s missed rendezvous and on the women’s semifinals between a match that could be a final and another one that might make people believe (or not) in fairytales. I’d say it’s worth you money… ;)
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ROLAND-GARROS (H)
“Jannik now understands himself much more,” says coach Darren Cahill
Darren Cahill is a happy coach: Jannik Sinner is not only back on Tour, but he’s also playing amazing tennis and winning. I spoke with Cahill after Jannik Sinner qualified for the semifinals at Roland-Garros for the second consecutive year. For the Australian, who’s working alongside Italian coach Simone Vagnozzi, Sinner has already “exceeded his expectations.” Read our exclusive interview.
Carole Bouchard, The Tennis Sweet Spot: From your perspective, how good is he right now?
Darren Cahill: It's hard to tell what his level is compared to what it was in Australia. It's a different surface and a surface that he maybe has the most trouble with and doesn't feel as comfortable on because of the movement on the clay. But every year, he continues to get better as a tennis player. He's becoming better on clay, and anything is possible for him. So we only have about 10 matches under his belt since his comeback, and for me, he has exceeded expectations already. His level is incredibly good. He's confident, so anything can happen here.
Carole Bouchard, The Tennis Sweet Spot: Do you think the movement on clay has really the improvement that has changed everything for him?
Darren Cahill: He likes to attack. He likes to hit big shots from the back of the court, but you can't do that if you don't have a great defense. So you build great offense from great defense. So if you feel like you've got more court covered, then you can have more patience and wait for the right ball to attack, and he's doing that now. So if he has to hit 6 or 8 or 10 balls in a rally to get one that he can go after, then he's able to do that. And when you don't move as well on clay, you look for that opportunity too quickly in the point.
Carole Bouchard, The Tennis Sweet Spot: We're all impressed by the way he handles the pressure. Have you also been impressed at all? That he keeps delivering?
Darren Cahill: I think that's a natural process. We've been with him now for about three years, and we try to talk through those moments as much as possible. We watch a lot of tennis. We work through his mentality in those moments and continue to build the belief. And that doesn't happen overnight. I think that it's through a long series of days, months, weeks, and years of work that he now understands himself much more and has a clearer idea of where his strengths lie and what he needs to do in those moments. It doesn't always work. Sometimes, your opponent is too good.
“We work through his mentality in those moments and continue to build the belief.”
Also, he's matured a lot over the last couple of years. He's been through a lot in the last couple of years. I think he's handled himself with remarkable maturity and class, and we're really proud of everything he accomplishes, not just on the court but probably even more so off the court.
Carole Bouchard, The Tennis Sweet Spot: We love rivalries. Tennis needs rivalries. Do you think his rivalries with Carlos made him also better?
Darren Cahill: Yes, rivalries in tennis are everything, right? And that's what we live for in tennis. And clearly, he and Carlos coming up together and Carlos breaking through early, winning the majors before Jannik did, that pushed Jannik. And I think what Jannik's been able to do in the last 12 months has pushed Carlos as well. So this will happen for the next 10 or 12 years. So we're only at the start of what I think is going to be a wonderful rivalry.
But they're not the only two players that are capable of winning here. I think there are still some great players left in the tournament. You don't win 24 Majors for no reason. And Novak has the experience, and with the form he's shown here, he is certainly capable of going all the way. So there's a lot of work to do.
I know the rivalry between Jannik and Carlos is an exceptional one, but we're still quite a way from that because we had some great players along the way. We missed the Tour. We missed everyone. So we're just thankful we're back and playing again, and we're healthy, and Jannik's playing good tennis.
Carole Bouchard, The Tennis Sweet Spot: Physically, he's been getting much stronger now…
Darren Cahill: I think that's the value of being able to put together a good three years of consistent work in the gym and also providing a schedule so that he's not overplaying. If he needs some weeks off, he'll just take those weeks off. He'll miss tournaments and make sure that he treats his body as his major asset.
“If he needs some weeks off, he'll just take those weeks off. (…) In the last three years, he has only played one exhibition.”
Carole Bouchard, The Tennis Sweet Spot: Did he get that mentality from the start, or did you have to tell him?
No, I think that he used to play a lot, and I think the most important thing for us was to make sure that when he did have weeks off or if he was playing too much, we gave him the time off. Firstly, to heal the body, and then secondly, to put in the off-court work. In the last three years, he has only played one exhibition, and that was the one that was for an awful amount of money, so we didn't blame him for going and playing that! (He laughs) But beyond that, he hasn't played a single exhibition. He has prioritized building his body, and he needed to because he was a little bit behind the other players who were more established physically, and now he's getting the rewards for that.
Below the paywall: Exclusives with Simone Tartarini, coach of Lorenzo Musetti, and with Kim Clijsters. Also, musings (with players’ quotes) on Jack Draper’s missed chance and the women’s semifinals.