Coach Simone Vagnozzi Calls Novak Djokovic Semifinal Jannik Sinner’s ‘Best’ Match of Wimbledon

Jannik Sinner, for the second consecutive time, beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals before reaching the final and winning the title at Wimbledon. Last year and this year, the Italian ace registered a straight-set win over the 24-time Grand Slam champion before beating Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, respectively, in the finals.

Sinner, who has now improved his head-to-head record over Nole to 7-5, took his revenge for his Australian Open exit this year. His latest win over the Serb, with scores of 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, was called his best match of this Wimbledon by his coach, Simone Vagnozzi.

The turning point day for me was the one before the match with Djokovic. We did a training session with two sparring partners: Jannik started to really hit well and had clear ideas because he had to be aggressive. That day, we sort of saw the real Jannik again.

Simone Vagnozzi told Sky Sports

Sinner lifted all five Grand Slam titles under the tutelage of Darren Cahill and Vagnozzi, both of whom joined his team in 2022. Djokovic, in Melbourne, clinched a shock five-set win over Sinner in the semifinals but was later denied his 25th Major by Alcaraz.

They knew that, arriving here without previous grass matches, the first rounds would be tough, and we weren’t expecting a Jannik immediately in form. The day of the match with Nole was perhaps the best Jannik of these two weeks.

Simone Vagnozzi added

Both Sinner and Djokovic suffered early exits at the French Open. Djokovic lost in five sets to Joao Fonseca in the third round, and on the previous day, Sinner suffered cramps and ended up losing his second-round match to Juan Manuel Cerundolo. Sinner, the 10th man in the Open Era to defend his crown at the All England Club, won his sixth title of the season in the grass-court Major.

Alexander Zverev analyzes his match against Jannik Sinner

Alexander Zverev‘s confidence skyrocketed after his triumph at the French Open. He was confident of having a good run at Wimbledon, where, before this year, he had never made it past the fourth round.

Yeah, I think overall, compared to where I was last year, it’s obviously a very different championship for me. Yeah, of course I would have loved to lift the trophy, but he was better than me today, and he deserves to win.

Alexander Zverev said at the press conference

At one point during the third set, the reigning French Open champion slipped and fell on the ground and clutched his knee in pain. Sinner here showed sportsmanship, as he ran toward his opponent to help him get back to his feet.

No, I overextended my knee again, similar to two years ago. I was struggling to push off on the serve a little bit. So my serve speed went down. But everything else went fine. I was moving fine from the baseline and playing from the baseline fine. But on the serve, I was struggling a little bit more.

Alexander Zverev added

It was Zverev’s 10th consecutive defeat at the hands of the 24-year-old, who has now improved his head-to-head record to 11-4. It was Sinner’s fifth clash with the German this year and also the second time they met in the final following the Madrid Open.

The South Tyrol native now holds three grass-court titles, while Zverev has never tasted success in a tournament on his surface. Next is the North American hardcourt swing. Sinner, although he is scheduled to play in Montreal, has expressed uncertainty about his participation. He is on a 34-match winning streak in Masters 1000s.

Also read: Martina Navratilova Sees Inconsistent Play as Reason Why Novak Djokovic Is Yet to Win Another Grand Slam