"I was not surprised by Sinner's defeat in the US Open final"

Jose Morón | 3 Oct 2025 | 10.54

Interview with Vagnozzi about Sinner. Photo: Vagnozzi.

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After the US Open final, Jannik Sinner commented that he needed to be less predictable and was determined to make changes in his tennis knowing that he would lose several matches along the way. Simone Vagnozzi, one of his coaches, has addressed this issue in a recent interview.

The Italian coach has spoken with Corriere dello Sport after his pupil's triumph in the Beijing tournament, revealing very interesting details about Jannik Sinner's current state regarding his morale after the clear defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in New York, as well as what happened at the beginning of the Asian tour, where he will also be the favorite in Shanghai after the absence of the Murcian player.

The lost US Open final, motivation for Sinner's change

"The defeat in that final was not surprising to me," Vagnozzi begins. "At that specific moment, Carlos was physically and tennis-wise better than Jannik. It is important to remember that Sinner has had five very difficult months, and we should not speak of a crisis when he has won two Slams this year, reaching finals every week. Afterward, like everyone, we want to improve," he adds.

"Sometimes I am surprised by the things that are said. Things work at some moments, and at other times they don't. In the United States, Jannik did not serve well," Simone points out, referring to the service of the current world number 2 and his struggles to serve a high percentage of first serves. "We made a slight change in the service motion before arriving in China. He has adapted well and has been serving very well," he notes.

"Jannik knows that our proposals can be right or wrong, but at the same time, we must work on ideas in which he believes. Otherwise, they cannot work. Sometimes, losing a match can help a player think that it might be a good time to improve some things," reveals Simone.

Aside from that slight change in the serve, which will help him improve in a statistic that was concerning within the team, another thing Sinner needed to improve was adding variations to his game. “We have added things to the game to avoid being predictable. This does not mean that Jannik should become a serve-and-volley player," he begins, before pointing out several areas in which he can work to be a better player.

“There are drop shots, the slice, and other variations like a parallel first serve, returning with more aggression, or hitting a body serve. He is improving in many aspects. Our work focuses mainly on the first serve. Then there may be moments where he sees things from his perspective, as in the final against Tien, where at 2-2 I asked him if he wanted to lower the power on the return. He said he wanted to try it once more, and then he broke. It is good for him to follow his instincts,” he analyzes.

A third player threatening the Alcaraz-Sinner duo

“When I joined Sinner's team, there were many people in the tennis world who said that Rune was far ahead of him. There are many intangible factors. Now everyone considers Jannik's victories normal,” declares Vagnozzi, who hopes to continue many more years within the team and keep accumulating successes.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "No me sorprendió la derrota de Sinner en la final del US Open"