Cahill on Sinner: 'His level was fantastic, but he can get better'

Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour

One of Jannik Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill, spoke to the media Sunday after the Italian stormed to the Miami Open presented by Itau title with a dominant performance against Grigor Dimitrov in the final.

The Australian coach made an ominous statement for the rest of the stars of the ATP Tour.

“Right now he's playing his hand. You can't sugar-coat it. He's playing great, and his level today was fantastic. But he can get better,” Cahill said of Sinner. “As evolution goes along and you get a little bit older and stronger and faster and get a bit smarter, all those things are going to start to come into his game. We have been working on improving his serve, improving his transition game, improving his slice backhand to use it as a changeup shot, improving his direction on his forehand, return of serve. You can go through everybody's game.

“It's the great thing about Novak as well. Novak at 36 years of age is still looking for improvement in his game, and we know that he's going to make adjustments. We know that Medvedev will make adjustments. We know that changes will be made. Carlos continues to look for improvements in his serve. It's just normal.”

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Sinner has been nearly perfect to begin 2024, tallying a 21-1 record with his only loss coming in the Indian Wells semi-finals against Carlos Alcaraz. Although the 22-year-old has been happy with his success, including his maiden major title at the Australian Open, he has been clear about continuing to work on his game.

Cahill recalled working with Andre Agassi later in the former World No. 1’s career.

“The moment I stepped on the court with Andre, it was all business and he wanted to become better as a tennis player at 32, better than he was at 22,” Cahill said. “So this generation is privileged to have seen the previous generations push for improvements no matter how old you are. That's what Jannik will do. So yes, he can get better for sure. But we've got to give credit where credit is due. He's playing terrific tennis at the moment.”

MOMENTOUS IN MIAMI 🏆

Sinner secures his second Masters title 👏@miamiopen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/IaoE80EEuE

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 31, 2024

One year ago, Sinner advanced to the Miami final behind a memorable win against Alcaraz in the semi-finals. But one year on, the Italian has clearly reached new heights. In his final two Miami matches, Sinner lost a combined seven games across four sets.

“A lot of belief in the moment, hasn't he? Finish to the year last year helped him a lot. He's matured a lot in the past 12 months. I think doing what he did in Turin, in Italy, getting through to the final, backing it up and winning Davis Cup with his team for Italy was a huge moment for him,” Cahill said. “He was able to carry that belief through to the Australian Open.

“Now when he steps onto any court in the world against any player in the world, he respects everybody, but he fears no one. That's really important, that when you step out there, you're ready to give it your best.”

As keen as Sinner is to continue his quest for improvement, he is not taking these moments for granted. His victory at Hard Rock Stadium marked his second ATP Masters 1000 title and 13th tour-level trophy overall.

“He treasures these trophies. He understands that what he's doing is privileged. He's getting to play a sport that he loves and do it at the highest order. He's loving every piece of his life at the moment,” Cahill said. “He appreciates every single moment that is happening to him at the moment, but he's also got his feet on the ground knowing it's just a sport, it's just a tennis match, and beyond this, whilst he's professional in everything he does, he enjoys his life. He's a normal 22-year-old kid. There's a lot to learn from him, a lot of good to learn from both him and Carlos. I think they're very similar in many, many ways.

“That's why I think tennis is in great hands at the moment with the likes of those two and many other players coming through that are going to carry the torch [after] a generation we have been so fortunate to sit through the last 20 years. It's important to have these types of sports people coming through.”