Coach Simone Vagnozzi Says There’s No Easy Fix for Jannik Sinner’s Collapses: “We Have to Live With These Episodes”

Jannik Sinner suffered a complete collapse during the second round of the French Open, which he played against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. Even though he was two sets to love up and needed just a game win to end the match in his favor, full-body cramps hit him, and he lost the match in five sets.

It was not the first time he suffered cramps due to extreme heat. Last year, during his bid to defend the Shanghai Masters, Sinner retired mid-match due to cramps in the third round.

Also last year, during his fourth-round match against Holger Rune, the Italian ace took a controversial 11-minute medical timeout. In Melbourne this year, Sinner somehow won his third-round match against Eliot Spizzirri while battling cramps.

His coach, Simone Vagnozzi, believes Sinner has been experiencing such collapses due to multiple factors, which is why there’s not a simple solution for this problem.

In Paris, there was extreme temperatures, and he arrived there with a significant amount of physical and mental stress. The little collapses he’s had are because of many little things together, but let’s remember that these collapses have been four in the last five years.

Simone Vagnozzi told Corriere della Sera

Sinner was chasing the Career Grand Slam in Paris, where last year, he lost a thrilling final to Carlos Alcaraz. Before coming to the French capital, Sinner took home back-to-back Masters 1000 titles, winning in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome.

The hot temperature, the tiredness, and the tension can combine. There’s not a single factor, in that case, it would be easier for us to fix it. We have to live together with these episodes and work to avoid them.

Simone Vagnozzi added

To manage his schedule, the five-time Grand Slam champion skipped the warm-up tournaments on the grass swing before Wimbledon, where he defended his title with a four-set win over Alexander Zverev.

Sinner prioritized rest and recovery after Wimbledon as he skipped the Canadian Open. Because of his withdrawal, he has lost a chance to complete the historic Golden Masters, which no player on the tour has achieved.

Sinner won the Canadian Open in 2023 and lost in the quarterfinals the following season. But he chose not to play the tournament last year as well.

Simone Vagnozzi on Jannik Sinner’s resilience

Simone Vagnozzi joined Jannik Sinner‘s team in February, 2022. Under his and Australian coach Darren Cahill‘s guidance, the 24-year-old lifted five Grand Slam titles, two back-to-back ATP Finals, and 10 Masters 1000s.

Both Vagnozzi and Cahill are in awe of their protege’s mental resilience. Vagnozzi, during that interview with Corriere della Sera, shed more light on Sinner’s never-give-up attitude.

Jannik, even in this, is special. He says to himself: ‘I am making huge sacrifices, I am giving up my youth for this sport, and I certainly can’t give up.’ These kind of players feel that they are always stronger than others, and so they feel like they have to prove it. This provides the strength to always react, to never give up even when you are losing by a lot.

Sinner has so far won six titles this year. He is expected to feature at the Cincinnati Masters, where he failed to defend his title last year, giving the walkover to Carlos Alcaraz, whose name is also on the entry list.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t competed since the first round of the Barcelona Open due to a wrist injury. After Cincinnati, the South Tyrol native will be chasing his second US Open title, where last year he lost to Alcaraz.

Also read: Zeynep Sonmez Opens Up About Harsh Realities of Life on Tour: “I Was Home for 50 Days Last Year”