Coach Simone Vagnozzi Sheds Light on Mentality Behind Jannik Sinner’s Success: “You Can’t Play Your Best Every Day”

Jannik Sinner has been enjoying red-hot form since the Indian Wells Masters, as he has yet to lose a match since then. At present, he is competing at the Italian Open, where, in the third round, he defeated Alexei Popyrin to inch closer to breaking Novak Djokovic‘s 31-match winning streak in Masters 1000s.

The Italian is chasing Career Golden Masters in Rome and is also bidding to become the first man to win six consecutive Masters 1000s. The last time Sinner lost a Masters 1000 match was in the third round of the 2025 Shanghai Masters (gave the walkover). His coach, Simone Vagnozzi, shed light on the mentality that has helped the four-time Major champion become what he is today.

With Jannik, we often take the example of the climber. One foot at a time, one hand at a time, one point at a time. The important thing is to always try to do 100% of what you can do today. You can’t play your best every day; you just have to try to do a little better than your opponent. Losing? It can happen, it doesn’t have to be a tragedy.

Simone Vagnozzi said on Sky Sports

If Sinner completes the Career Golden Masters, he will become the second man, after Novak Djokovic, to accomplish this feat. The 24-year-old now needs just two more match wins to surpass Djokovic’s streak of 31 match wins in the Masters 1000s.

Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final and Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final to become the eighth man in history to complete the Sunshine Double. The only time Sinner suffered defeats this year was in the semifinals of the Australian Open against Djokovic and in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open to Jakub Mensik.

Darren Cahill sheds light on the curious nature of Jannik Sinner

Darren Cahill shared some interesting details about Jannik Sinner during his interview with La Gazzetta. The Aussie coach also revealed the “dangerous” side of Sinner, rejecting the idea of him being a “robot”. Although Sinner rarely shows emotions while competing, off the court, he is a very curious person, said Cahill.

He is extremely curious. When he is in a group of people, everyone wants to know something about him, but in the end, he finds a way to turn the situation around and bombard them with questions, whether about sports or life, about handling pressure, girlfriends, or any other subject.

In Rome, Sinner is aiming to become the first Italian man to win the tournament since Adriano Panatta in 1976. Before arriving in the Italian capital, Sinner breezed past Alexander Zverev to win his third clay-court title at the Madrid Open.

He wants to learn from people who have lived experiences that he will likely experience in the future. He wants to be prepared in advance.

Darren Cahill added

His second clay-court title came in Monte Carlo with a straight-set win over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Last year in Rome, Sinner reached the final for the first time but failed to defeat Alcaraz, who is not competing in the event because of an injury he suffered during the Barcelona Open.

Sinner will next be locking horns with compatriot and qualifier Andrea Pellegrino, who knocked out Frances Tiafoe. After Rome, Sinner will be aiming to complete the Career Grand Slam at the French Open, where last year, he lost a thrilling final to Alcaraz in five sets. Sinner dethroned Alcaraz from the top of the rankings table after winning the Monte Carlo title. Alcaraz won’t be playing in Paris this year, which will make Sinner the heavy favorite to win the title.

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