Jannik Sinner Shares Hilarious Superstition Behind His Team Wearing Same Color

Jannik Sinner is into the semifinals of Wimbledon for the third time in his career. On Tuesday (July 7), the Italian ace knocked out Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 to inch closer to the fifth Grand Slam title of his career.

The defending champion, who defeated arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s Wimbledon final, will be playing his second Major semifinal of the season following the Australian Open. While he is battling it out on the court, his team, which includes Darren Cahill, Simone Vagnozzi, Umberto Ferrara, and Alejandro Resnicoff, is wearing outfits of the same color, which must be due to superstitious reasons.

So when Sinner was asked at the press conference why his team was wearing the same color, he said, “You need to ask my team.” And when he was asked whether he was in charge of that, the four-time Grand Slam champion said:

Not me. No, I’m not in charge. The only color I don’t like is a white hat for a certain reason. We don’t have a good win percentage when they have a white cap. But the rest they choose.

Sinner has improved his head-to-head record over Struff to a perfect 4-0. Before arriving at SW19, the World No. 1 had not played a warm-up tournament on grass. At the French Open, his run ended in the second round with a five-set defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Sinner is aiming to lift his sixth trophy of the season following his wins in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome. His victory in his home Masters 1000 made him the second man after Novak Djokovic to complete the Career Golden Masters.

Jannik Sinner could face Novak Djokovic in the semifinals

It’s Novak Djokovic whom Jannik Sinner could meet in the semifinals of Wimbledon. The Serb knocked the 24-year-old out of this year’s Australian Open semifinal before losing the final to Carlos Alcaraz.

That win helped Djokovic break his five-match losing streak against Sinner. At the press conference after his latest win, Sinner was asked about a possible clash with the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

If it’s Novak, I feel like every match is different. Even when I had this small streak with him, I felt like every match has really its own story. Especially when you play on a surface like this. If you have a bad serving day or not feeling the ball very well, it’s gonna be very, very tough. […] He’s won this tournament so many times, and he knows exactly how to approach it. I’m looking forward to it.

Nole trails 5-6 in the head-to-head matchups versus Sinner. Last year, apart from Wimbledon, Sinner also downed him in the French Open semifinals. If Felix Auger-Aliassime beats Djokovic, then Sinner will face the Canadian ace in the semifinals.

Djokovic couldn’t make it to the final of last year’s Wimbledon because Sinner ended his run in the semifinals. But the 39-year-old made the finals here in 2023 and 2024, losing both times to Alcaraz.

Djokovic, who last won a Major title at the 2023 US Open, last won at Wimbledon in 2022 (his seventh), defeating Nick Kyrgios. He last clinched a tour-level title at the Hellenic Championship last year by defeating Lorenzo Musetti.

Like Sinner, Djokovic also did not play any warm-up tournament on grass before arriving in London. At the French Open, Joao Fonseca came from two sets down to knock Djokovic out in the third round.

Apart from the three Majors, the only two tournaments that Djokovic played this year were the Indian Wells Masters (lost in the fourth round) and the Italian Open (suffered an opening-round exit).

Also read: Flavio Cobolli Recreates Cristiano Ronaldo’s Iconic ‘Siuuu’ Celebration After Reaching Wimbledon Quarterfinals