Coach Simone Vagnozzi Uses Pasta Metaphor to Explain Jannik Sinner’s Improvements

Top players like Jannik Sinner always strive for improvement. And this year, he has made a lot of improvements in his service games, having finished the Miami Open with over 70 aces.

At present, the 24-year-old is competing on the European clay swing. In the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters, Sinner defeated Ugo Humbert in straight sets, but against Tomas Machac he dropped the second set.

It was the first time since last year’s Shanghai Masters third round that Sinner lost a set in a Masters 1000 tournament. After his exit in the Chinese event, Sinner clinched the 2025 Paris Masters and this year’s Indian Wells and the Miami Open in straight sets.

Recently, Sinner’s coach Simone Vagnozzi, while explaining how the youngster improves his game, used a pasta metaphor, saying too much of everything won’t work. He said on Sky Sports:

We’ve always tried to add a little bit of that over the years. We’ve always talked about pasta with tomato sauce: if you add too much salt, it’s no good, but if you don’t add any, it’s no good. If you don’t add parmesan, it’s no good. If you add too much… so you always have to find the right amounts.

Last year, after his US Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner expressed his wish to become a more unpredictable player. And though he aims to improve certain aspects of his game, changing his playing style is not the solution, according to Vagnozzi.

You don’t have to completely overturn his game, because he’s a baseline attacker, someone who shoots, someone who scores from the baseline. But then, within his tactical plan, you have to play the short ball, you have to incorporate the run to the net.

Simone Vagnozzi added

Sinner is chasing his third title of the season in Monte Carlo. Before becoming the eighth man to complete the Sunshine Double, he lost both the Australian Open and the Qatar Open without reaching the final.

Carlos Alcaraz on the World No.1 battle between him and Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are fighting for the top ranking spot. Because of Alcaraz’s defeats in the two Sunshine Double events without reaching the final, and Sinner gaining 2,000 points, the latter has reduced the rankings gap between him and the Spaniard to 190 points.

Alcaraz will not just be defending 1,000 points in Monaco, but he has a total of 4,300 points to defend on the clay swing thanks to his victories in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Paris last year. The only two tournaments that the Italian ace played on clay last year were in Rome and Paris, losing both to Alcaraz.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion, after dismantling Sebastian Baez in the opening round, said that he is convinced Sinner will reclaim his rankings. And later during his interview with Eurosport, the Murica native explained why he said that.

Getting back to Jannik and the World No.1 ranking, I saw that my statement caused a stir. But I mean it. He has several important tournaments coming up where he can earn a lot of points. I have to defend some, and I can’t defend them all. It’s going to be tough, but that’s also what makes our rivalry so exciting. He’s going to become World No.1 again, and I’m going to push him as far as I can to take that spot back.

After surviving a scare against Tomas Machac, Sinner has scheduled his quarterfinal match against Felix Auger-Aliassime, who received the walkover from Casper Ruud. While Alcaraz is chasing his 12th title on clay, the lone title that Sinner won on the surface was the 2022 Croatia Open.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Expresses Desire to Retire at the 2028 LA Olympics With Serbian Flag

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