Cahill and the memory of the Roland Garros final: "A match like that stays with you throughout your whole career"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 19 Jun 2025 | 11.12

Cahill and the memory of the Roland Garros final: "A match like that stays with you your whole career." Photo: Getty Images

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Days go by and in the minds of many tennis fans, that historic final at Roland Garros between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner still lingers. The Spaniard saved three match points and came back from two sets down to claim his second Roland Garros title, his fifth Grand Slam, leaving behind one of the best finals in recent years. While all the joy was taken by the Murcian, sadness and pain fell on the side of the Italian and his team. The image of Alcaraz, celebrating with tears of emotion with his group contrasts with that of Sinner, standing lost and on the verge of tears on the bench. But that's tennis, and that's life.

It wasn't just the world number one who suffered a hard blow but also his team, among whom was Darren Cahill, his coach alongside Simone Vagnozzi. The Australian revealed on Andy Roddick's podcast how the moments after the final in Paris were experienced: "The disappointment was immense, absolute silence. Jannik sat for twenty minutes without saying a word, and each of us hugged him. As a coach, I couldn't ask for more. It was a brilliant and serious tennis match, with great respect between the two players. It was a true honor to be there," he stated in remarks published by Ubitennis.

Cahill delved into the feeling of disappointment that his pupil was experiencing and confessed that a defeat like that takes time to heal but can also be of help: "There was nothing to say. After all he had given on the court, it was right to leave him alone with his thoughts. He shed some tears, not just him. It was tough on everyone. I must say that even hours later, he still hadn't processed it, and he never will. You carry a match like that with you throughout your entire career, but it can become a turning point," he expressed.

Proud of how his player fought until the end

Both he and the rest of the team are very proud of the level shown by the world number one, who was a machine in the first two sets, and despite not converting the three match points, he didn't give up and stayed engaged in the match until the end: "After Roland Garros, I felt very proud of him. The entire team was incredibly proud, not only of how he played but also of how he conducted himself, how he fought in the deciding set. Even in the way he spoke after the match, he showed incredible maturity," Cahill mentioned.

But the defense of his player didn't end there: "Jannik has an incredible work ethic, great resilience in moments of pressure, and knows how to handle it. He always keeps calm on the court. He's a problem solver and likes to ask many questions. He's very curious about how he can improve, what he needs to grow, and isn't afraid to take risks. I think his awareness is truly special and is a fundamental quality for a great tennis player. He keeps his feet on the ground, knows who he is as a person, and is very humble. He doesn't get too excited after a win and accepts losses with great respect. His maturity is impressive, Italy is very lucky to have him!," he asserted.

Additionally, the Australian had no doubt that Sinner would turn the page and praised his ability to bounce back from defeats: "He has a great self-awareness. He understands the importance of a tennis match, knows that you have to face victories and defeats more or less the same way. And he does it well. He has an amazing work ethic, resilience, a well-defined purpose. He loves tennis, plans to play until he's 37-38 years old. He has a different perspective: he knows his career could last a long time and invests accordingly. And that resilience, after Paris, will be tested; it doesn't matter if he wins or loses in the upcoming tournaments: the key will be how he reacts, how he keeps pushing forward," Cahill remarked.

The former coach of Andre Agassi believes that the Italian will use the pain of the defeat against Alcaraz to turn it into strength and motivation: "I think it will help us improve. We will try to use that disappointment to take a step forward. Jannik has already started over. The next day, he had already changed his attitude. Of course, he hasn't forgotten it, and he won't: he has moved past it. He has a great ability to assign the right importance to everything and understands the value of a match compared to real life. There are much more important things that have happened and will happen than winning or losing a tennis match,” Cahill concluded.

It is worth mentioning that, despite the great level displayed in Rome and Paris, Sinner is coming off a three-month break due to the suspension agreement for his positive test for clostebol. His return on clay, his least favorite surface, and the lack of competition rhythm made Cahill and the rest of the team believe that getting back into the circuit would be much slower and gradual than expected: "In the initial training sessions before Rome, we weren't so optimistic. We thought: 'let's hope he wins at least a couple of matches'. Instead, he made it to the final. One of the amazing things about Jannik is that he always surprises us. By now, it has become the norm. He has accustomed us to it.”

He also disclosed the difficulties they faced in training during the suspension, which started on February 4th and ended on May 4th. "Finding courts and training partners during the suspension was very challenging. Everything had to be approved by the ITIA. In the end, we trained on a clay court provided by a sponsor, near Monte Carlo, but at that time, tennis was nearly secondary. The priority was physical preparation,” he explained.

During the interview with Roddick, one of the topics that worries Sinner the most was also addressed: Cahill's continuity. The Australian confirmed earlier this year that this would be his last season, but despite rumors placing Carlos Moyà in the world number one's team for the next season, the Italian persists, both publicly and privately, for his coach to continue. Cahill is leaving the door open to continue.

"He has 'persisted' quite a bit, let's say, but I enjoy it too much. This year I will turn 60. At the end of 2025, I may retire; we talked about it, he mentioned it by mistake in a press conference in Melbourne. If I retire, it will be for his own good. Sometimes, having a fresh voice, new energy, can be good. I think a new coach wouldn't hurt him, so the plan is still to part ways at the end of the year; we still have many months ahead, we'll see...,” Cahill concluded, who is now less certain about quitting coaching Sinner, who, along with Alcaraz, will feature in many finals like those of Roland Garros.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Cahill y el recuerdo de la final de Roland Garros: "Un partido así lo llevas contigo toda tu carrera"