“Don’t think anybody should be comparing this generation with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal” – Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill

Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill believes that it is not justifiable to compare the present group of tennis players to legends such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

In July of 2022, Jannik Sinner enlisted the help of Cahill, who brought with him his extensive coaching experience with Grand Slam champions like Simona Halep, Andre Agassi, and Lleyton Hewitt.

Sinner, a student of Cahill, has continued his successful 2024 season by winning the Miami Open, his third trophy of the year. This victory adds to his previous wins at the Australian Open and Rotterdam Open. In the final, he defeated Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-1, earning his second Masters 1000 title and improving his overall win-loss record to 22-1 for the year.

During his campaign at Miami, Sinner dominated his opponents and ultimately claimed the trophy, dropping only one set along the way.

Therefore, during the post-match press conference, a journalist asked Cahill if he could draw any parallels between Jannik Sinner’s impressive performance and that of the previous generation of players, such as Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and even his former students.

“Well, I don’t think anybody should be comparing this generation yet with Novak, Federer, Nadal. What they were able to achieve for so many years is remarkable. I don’t think we will ever see that domination again no matter what,”Cahill replied.

Despite acknowledging the current lot of tennis athletes’ talent, Cahill asserted that they must accumulate more trophies before being considered on par with the previous generation of players.

“I wouldn’t start comparing what Carlos or Jannik or Holger are doing just yet to the generation prior, because I think that’s unfair. They need time to establish themselves. The level is right up there, but they need to win a lot more before you start comparing them to those boys,”he said.

“Darren Cahill Reflects on Jannik Sinner’s Growth and Success in 2021”

Despite it only being three months into the new year, Jannik Sinner has already achieved impressive victories, including a Grand Slam, an ATP 500, and a Masters 1000. According to his coach Darren Cahill, Sinner’s exceptional current form can be attributed to his strong finish in the previous season.

“Finish to the year last year helped him a lot. He [Jannik Sinner] has matured a lot in the last 12 months. I think doing what he did in Turin [ATP Finals] getting through to the final, and winning Davis Cup for Italy was a huge moment for him. He was able to carry that belief through to the Australian Open,”Cahill said during the aforementioned presser.

Interestingly, all three of the campaigns that Cahill mentioned in his statement regarding the Sinner include at least one instance where he emerged victorious against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. One such occasion was during a round-robin match at the ATP Finals, although he ultimately lost to Djokovic in the final match.

In both the semifinals at the Davis Cup and the Australian Open 2024, the World No. 2 emerged victorious in singles matches against Djokovic, representing Serbia in the former and Italy in the latter.