"Hall of Fame-quality";"Best coach in tennis ever" - Tennis world hails Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill for guiding him to Australian Open triumph
Tennis fans lavished praise on Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill for guiding the Italian to his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open.
Jannik Sinner faced Daniil Medvedev in the summit clash. Medvedev was unstoppable early on and showed his experience to take the first two sets. However, Sinner eventually settled into the contest and outplayed the former US Open champion in the next three sets to win the title 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Tennis fans were happy to see the young Italian tick off a major career milestone and commended his coach, Darren Cahill, for guiding him to glory. Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi constitute Sinner's coaching team and were together awarded the 'Coach of the Year' at the 2023 ATP Awards.
Fans pointed out that Jannik Sinner is the latest player Darren Cahill has helped win a Major. In the past, Cahill, a former player-turned-coach, has steered Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, and Simona Halep to Grand Slam success. After Sinner's triumph, fans dubbed Cahill one of the most successful tennis coaches of all time and called for him to be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame.
Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
"Also what an unreal feat by Darren Cahill, winning Slams coaching men (Hewitt, Agassi), then a woman (Halep), then a man again (Sinner). Players from four distinct generations, cultures, and playing styles. His versatility as a coach is unprecedented."
"Unreal mate," wrote Australian ATP star Thanasi Kokkinakis.
"Hall of famer," a fan said.
"Hewitt. Agassi. Halep. Sinner. @darren_cahill takes another tennis player to the mountaintop. Hall of Fame-quality coach. Cheers and congratulations, mate! Chuffed for you!" another fan posted on X.
Here are a few more fans praising Darren Cahill for helping Jannik Sinner:
Jannik Sinner pays emotional tribute to his parents after Australian Open victory
Jannik Sinner was overwhelmed with emotions after winning his first Grand Slam title and thanked the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena for creating a special atmosphere over the last two weeks. The 22-year-old also mentioned his parents, father Johann and mother Siglinde, in his presentation ceremony remarks.
The Italian thanked his parents for letting him pursue his dream and not pressuring him to do anything he did not want to.
"Most importantly, the support has been crazy throughout the whole two weeks. You guys make me feel at home. Thank you so much. It's a court with 15, 000 people but it feels like much more. Thank you so much everyone," he said.
"I wish that everyone could have my parents because they always let me choose whatever I wanted to. Even when I was younger, I made also some other sports and then they never put pressure on me and I wish that this freedom is possible for as many young kids as possible. So thank you so much for my parents," he added.
Jannik Sinner was unassailable throughout his Australian Open campaign and dropped only one set en route to the final. He bettered Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper De Jong, Sebastian Baez, No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov, and No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev in the first five rounds. The World No. 4 dropped one set in his semifinal victory over defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic.