Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has explained that seeing Carlos Alcaraz win Grand Slam titles has motivated the Italian, who secured his maiden major at the 2024 Australian Open.
The renowned coach also proclaimed that he feels Sinner can become tennis’ new “superstar” and thinks he and Alcaraz are “very similar” and have a “friendly rivalry”.
Sinner has been coached by Simone Vagnozzi since he split with long-time coach Riccardo Piatti in February 2022, while Cahill joined his team in June 2022.
The world No 4 recovered from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday to claim his first Grand Slam title.
The 22-year-old became the third Italian man to claim a major singles crown and the second player of his generation of young stars to win on tennis’ biggest stage after Alcaraz.
World No 2 Alcaraz is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having triumphed at the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
In a post-tournament press conference, Cahill was asked if he thought Sinner could be the sport’s new superstar.
“I do. I think this sport at the moment has a few superstars. I think Carlos is very similar to Jannik in both the way they play with the excitement level they bring to the game, and their personalities and their likability,” the Australian said.
“Both guys are incredibly alike off the court. They both like each other. They both have a friendly rivalry. They both light it up when they play each other. I don’t think any of their matches have ever been boring.
“I think we have some really good personalities in the game at the moment, and it’s important they keep winning. It’s important they do what Jannik was able to do today, and that’s to show a side of this young generation that are going to fight till the very end.
“They really want to make a name for themselves, and Jannik did that. Carlos has done that already a couple of times, the match he played at Wimbledon to beat Novak was just a special performance.
“Our job now is just to make sure that we keep him pumped up. It’s because it’s the start of the year, it’s a long year, and it’s important to enjoy the moment but when we get back onto the tennis court we will try to keep him in that good mindset and try to keep him winning.”
Cahill, who also coached Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Simona Halep to major victories, revealed that Alcaraz’s huge early success has helped drive Sinner.
“Hell, yeah. Absolutely (smiling). There’s no question seeing the young players come through and having success drives each and every one of them,” Cahill continued.
“Not just Jannik. They all desire it. They all want it. If they see one of their compatriots or someone of their generation having success, absolutely. Then you look into what they’re doing, why they’re having success, and how are we going to replicate it for us.
“Carlos has trail-blazed for a lot of young players. We’re thankful for that. He’s a delight to watch play, and a delight to watch him on court. We aspire to be as good as him and hopefully one day be better than him, but at the moment we’re chasing Carlos, and we’ll continue to do that.”