A Bit of Insight On The Djokovic-Sinner Match From Coach Darren Cahill

[Lozo1016]

Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill talked briefly about the Sinner-Djokovic match this morning on ESPN. Here's what he said:

The one thing that really caught us by surprise in the first 3 or 4 games was how much Novak went to Jannik's strength, and that is the forehand. He did it in the first 3 or 4 games. I thought it was really interesting and a little bit because of the slickness of the court, as well, he exposed the movement. Or, the experience of moving on a grass court between Jannik and Novak was exposed a little bit in those first 4 games.

So he went straight hard and heavy to Jannik's forehand. I think he'll do a little bit the same against Alcaraz. You go to the strength. You're the grass-court player that's won these Championships time and time again. If you break down the strength early, it can let players down.

And you can see, this kind of stayed with Jannik for quite a while. He lost a little confidence in the forehand. He had a couple of chances and then he was shanking the forehand for the 1st set and a half. Eventually, the forehand came back for Jannik and he created chances for himself, but a little bit too late, right? Because you're down a set and a break to Novak it's little bit tough to reel him back in.

In relating it to the Alcaraz-Djokovic match, Chris McKendry noted that Cahill pointed out inexperience moving on a grass court and Alcaraz doesn't have a ton of experience moving on grass either. Cahill said that Alcaraz is moving differently on the grass than Sinner was. Sinner likes to slide and doesn't feel at ease if he has trouble sliding, while Alcaraz is taking those smaller steps as he's moving on the grass.

 

[messiahrobins]

Sinners Bh is his strength. The FH has always been erratic for Sinner.

 

[topher]

Sinners Bh is his strength. The FH has always been erratic for Sinner.

Wasn’t it Rune who attacked Sinner’s BH to great effect (in Monte Carlo)?

Imo Sinner’s strengths are his return and the unending hype he gets.

 

[messiahrobins]

Wasn’t it Rune who attacked Sinner’s BH to great effect (in Monte Carlo)?

Imo Sinner’s strengths are his return and the unending hype he gets.

Yes thats what rune did. Sinner has no defence thats his great weakness so go hard at him and move him about he crumbles

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Movement is the key

 

[topher]

Also quite the red hot take by Cahill pointing out Alcaraz has better footwork than Jannik.

Fortunately for Novak, Carlitos has about 3 other weaknesses he can exploit.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Also quite the red hot take by Cahill pointing out Alcaraz has better footwork than Jannik.

Fortunately for Novak, Carlitos has about 3 other weaknesses he can exploit.

What weaknesses exactly?

 

[topher]

What weaknesses exactly?

Mental, serve, backhand.

Not weaknesses to most players, but Novak is not most.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Mental, serve, backhand.

Not weaknesses to most players, but Novak is not most.

Mental? How is his mental game a weakness? Its in fact what has allowed him to win all hes won, playing his best in important points, backhand is only a weakness when he has an off day on that wing, and serve is definetly not a weakness since some time already, its worse than djokovic if you mean that, but not a weakness by any means.

 

[Baggio10]

I cannot understand how a coach worth his salt would be surprised by this. Has he been in coma for much of this year? That's what Djokovic did to Rublev and Tsitipas in AO, that's what he did to Alcaraz in RG. He went to their forehands which is strength for all of them.

I predicted (on another forum) that Djokovic will go more the Sinner's forehand, for two reasons:
1. Avoid long cross-court BH exchanges with Sinner, because that ends up being a losing pattern for him. Last year he got out of it by deploying the slice to slow down things and give himself more time. This year it was mainly the BHDL to go to the forehand side.
2. While Sinner's FH has tremendous pace, it is erratic and misses a lot when challenged with good pace and depth.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Wasn’t it Rune who attacked Sinner’s BH to great effect (in Monte Carlo)?

Yup!

 

[topher]

Mental? How is his mental game a weakness? Its in fact what has allowed him to win all hes won, playing his best in important points, backhand is only a weakness when he has an off day on that wing, and serve is definetly not a weakness since some time already, its worse than djokovic if you mean that, but not a weakness by any means.

Didn’t he, by his own words, get cramps at RG due to his own mental prep? If that’s not a mental mistake, then I’ve never heard of one.

You seem to think I’m insulting Carlitos when I’m not, he’s a great player. Everyone has weaknesses, no?

 

[The Fedfather]

It's a kind of insight that doesn't really do anything. Even if they know Djokovic is going to hit to your FH, what does it change for the player on a grand scale? It's not like Sinner could be constantly taken aback when his FH corner was targeted and that was the reason he wasn't able to counter.

This sounds a bit like an excuse as to why Jannik was shanking, which he probably would've done that as the pressure piled up regadless of where Novak was aiming.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Didn’t he, by his own words, get cramps at RG due to his own mental prep? If that’s not a mental mistake, then I’ve never heard of one.

You seem to think I’m insulting Carlitos when I’m not, he’s a great player. Everyone has weaknesses, no?

his mental game is amazing, definetly not a weakness, just pointing that out as ive seen all of his matches for years, getting cramps in a match being young and unexperience doesnt mean his mental game when playing tennis is a weakness, fact is he doesnt have an obvious weakness anymore, thats why i was surprised that you said djokovic has 3 more weaknesses to attack, i could say novak is crap a the net, thats more of a weakness than any alcaraz has honestly.

 

[topher]

his mental game is amazing, definetly not a weakness, just pointing that out as ive seen all of his matches for years, getting cramps in a match being young and unexperience doesnt mean his mental game when playing tennis is a weakness, fact is he doesnt have an obvious weakness anymore, thats why i was surprised that you said djokovic has 3 more weaknesses to attack, i could say novak is crap a the net, thats more of a weakness than any alcaraz has honestly.

Novak isn’t crap at the net. He’s not all-time there, but he’s very good by this era’s standards.

I’m not here to hate on Carlitos’ tennis, but when you’re going against one of the best BH and return games of all time, anything less than GOAT serve and BH may be exploited.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Novak isn’t crap at the net. He’s not all-time there, but he’s very good by this era’s standards.

I’m not here to hate on Carlitos’ tennis, but when you’re going against one of the best BH and return games of all time, anything less than GOAT serve and BH may be exploited.

something can be exploited a little bit and not be a weakness, also novak skills at the net are very low compared to alcarazs, thats also gonna count in all the cat and mouse points, im not saying you hating, just surprised you see so many weaknesses in carlos game lol, he has played way better than novak this wimbledon, novak has more experience and calmness and also more experience moving on grass, thats it, i see very good chances for carlos.

 

[Kralingen]

Carlos’s serve is what worries me.

He does get good pace and I think he can go out wide and change it up well.

But his placement is not elite, no 20 year old can be expected to be some sort of precision spot server. It’s also readable, and a lot of times when he goes big, it lands in the service box. At a 40-40 or the inevitable BPs that Djokovic just seems to generate out of thin air, what will he do? What’s his winning serve pattern?

 

[urban]

If Alcaraz can bring in his A game, he has a chance. He is moving well on grass with small steps and does well inside the court, and against the heavy serve of Medvedev, he was taking the initiative with his aggressive returns, even following it into the net aeria. He makes the court small, which is very effective on grass. He reminds me a bit of the young Jimbo Connors. With a big heart and some cool blood, he could overrun Djokovic, by giving him no rhythm,.

 

[Kralingen]

something can be exploited a little bit and not be a weakness, also novak skills at the net are very low compared to alcarazs, thats also gonna count in all the cat and mouse points, im not saying you hating, just surprised you see so many weaknesses in carlos game lol, he has played way better than novak this wimbledon, novak has more experience and calmness and also more experience moving on grass, thats it, i see very good chances for carlos.

Not true, Novak actually outfoxed him in the majority of cat and mouse points at RG. Djokovic struggles with overheads but his below-the-net game is vastly underrated, he picks up drop shots as well as anyone in the history of the game, reads volleys, passing shots etc.

As a defensive player at net he is really great.

I know you’re sipping the Carlos kool-aid hard but at RG the net points did not play out in Carlos’s favor at all. I think Carlos should absolutely come in when he has advantage in the rally, but he should not use drop shots early in the rally and try to make it a net game, that is not a winning strategy against Djokovic.

I do feel that on return, throwing in some chip and charge is a good idea though.

 

[Sampras-Bruguera 1993]

If Djoker gets the break its over for Carlos. Djoker isn't giving up his serve like CRAPvevevevev did

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Carlos’s serve is what worries me.

He does get good pace and I think he can go out wide and change it up well.

But his placement is not elite, no 20 year old can be expected to be some sort of precision spot server. It’s also readable, and a lot of times when he goes big, it lands in the service box. At a 40-40 or the inevitable BPs that Djokovic just seems to generate out of thin air, what will he do? What’s his winning serve pattern?

on deuce side slice out wide and finish at the net, on ad side slice to the forehand and get ready to recieve a deep return and still be on comand of the point, hes been doing that the whole tournament, he has his patterns, and you are giving for granted djokovic returns perfect for most of the match, which honestly he hasnt done that great this wimbledon, fact is we will have to wait until tomorrow to see how each player can perform on the given day.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Not true, Novak actually outfoxed him in the majority of cat and mouse points at RG. Djokovic struggles with overheads but his below-the-net game is vastly underrated, he picks up drop shots as well as anyone in the history of the game, reads volleys, passing shots etc.

As a defensive player at net he is really great.

I know you’re sipping the Carlos kool-aid hard but at RG the net points did not play out in Carlos’s favor at all. I think Carlos should absolutely come in when he has advantage in the rally, but he should not use drop shots early in the rally and try to make it a net game, that is not a winning strategy against Djokovic.

I do feel that on return, throwing in some chip and charge is a good idea though.

his mind was totally not sharp at rg, moment overwhelmed him and wasnt thinking clearly, in second set all those net points turned much more in carlos favour, yeah Novak is better down the net than on top of it, if i were you i would expect a totally different match from Rg, conditions couldnt be more different, you know how it might end up looking? more like mutua madrid match, saving some differences

 

[ballamaz]

Djoko goes to the FH b/c he has very good FH himself.

The problem for Sinner / Alcaraz is they don't often face someone with this level of serving, FH and BH combined.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Djoko goes to the FH b/c he has very good FH himself.

The problem for Sinner / Alcaraz is they don't often face someone with this level of serving, FH and BH combined.

how often does novak face one with the variety of alcaraz¿

 

[Spin Diesel]

I cannot understand how a coach worth his salt would be surprised by this. Has he been in coma for much of this year? That's what Djokovic did to Rublev and Tsitipas in AO, that's what he did to Alcaraz in RG. He went to their forehands which is strength for all of them.

I predicted (on another forum) that Djokovic will go more the Sinner's forehand, for two reasons:
1. Avoid long cross-court BH exchanges with Sinner, because that ends up being a losing pattern for him. Last year he got out of it by deploying the slice to slow down things and give himself more time. This year it was mainly the BHDL to go to the forehand side.
2. While Sinner's FH has tremendous pace, it is erratic and misses a lot when challenged with good pace and depth.

I was about to write exactly that. This is stuff that his team should know, he really used that tactic often.

 

[Kralingen]

his mind was totally not sharp at rg, moment overwhelmed him and wasnt thinking clearly, in second set all those net points turned much more in carlos favour, yeah Novak is better down the net than on top of it, if i were you i would expect a totally different match from Rg, conditions couldnt be more different, you know how it might end up looking? more like mutua madrid match, saving some differences

What I mean is that the net points are a weakness for Djokovic on net approaches, I.e. ones he initiates and hits a bad drop shot or overhead, yeah he isn’t that skilled at this or a guy who’s going to pull off a lot of serve-and-volley (but still pretty good)

What he excels at is the drop-shot pickups and neutralizing opponents who come to net, and that’s why I worry about needless net approaches by Carlos.

For me I expect a big win in Carlos’ favor because the conditions are windy and that favors the more aggressive player who can generate his own pace and has to rely less on precision. I just don’t like Carlos throwing in drop shots and expecting to out-athlete Djokovic at net. He often does this and yes, he totally can be successful with this vs 99% of the tour, just not Novak.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

What I mean is that the net points are a weakness for Djokovic on net approaches, I.e. ones he initiates and hits a bad drop shot or overhead, yeah he isn’t that skilled at this or a guy who’s going to pull off a lot of serve-and-volley (but still pretty good)

What he excels at is the drop-shot pickups and neutralizing opponents who come to net, and that’s why I worry about needless net approaches by Carlos.

For me I expect a big win in Carlos’ favor because the conditions are windy and that favors the more aggressive player who can generate his own pace and has to rely less on precision. I just don’t like Carlos throwing in drop shots and expecting to out-athlete Djokovic at net. He often does this and yes, he totally can be successful with this vs 99% of the tour, just not Novak.

yeah yeah i got what you meant and i agree, but i do think drop shots can be great against djokovic, specially because the ones from carlos are unreadable, what novak does very good is reading fast the things that can be read, im sure novak has a good plan but i think carlitos is gonna exceed our expectations, but you know, you never know.

 

[Lozo1016]

Cahill also said he didn't get a minute of sleep last night. I'm sure many coaches have had sleepless nights before and after their player faced Djokovic!

 

[btsjungkook]

how often does novak face one with the variety of alcaraz¿

Didn't he beat Federer in 3 finals before? That man had a lot of variety.

 

[socallefty]

I saw a stat on TV that Sinner won something like 55% of the points when the ball was within the plane of the singles courts. But on balls that were contacted in the alley area (obviously bounced inside the court), Djokovic won more than 60% of the points. Basically, Sinner didn‘t know how to move to wide balls on grass, stop, change direction and recover - he is used to sliding and he doesn’t know how to take small steps on grass without sliding and then change direction. This is a key advantage that Djokovic has on grass against almost all players that doesn’t get talked about enough - he is a master of moving on grass and he makes others who are more of novices pay with wide balls and changes of angles.

How well will Alcaraz move on grass tomorrow for wide balls? That might be the key to the match outcome as he has to do better than Sinner.

 

[socallefty]

I cannot understand how a coach worth his salt would be surprised by this. Has he been in coma for much of this year? That's what Djokovic did to Rublev and Tsitipas in AO, that's what he did to Alcaraz in RG. He went to their forehands which is strength for all of them.

I never found Cahill to be an insightful commentator and suspect that he is not a very tactically astute coach. He might be a strong emotional support coach and maybe knows how to coach technique well. So, I am not surprised by this huge error if they didn’t know that Djokovic would go to the FH wing first. As you said, he has been doing it all year since the AO match against Rublev and then against Tsitsipas also.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Didn't he beat Federer in 3 finals before? That man had a lot of variety.

Yeah now imagine that federer had carlos movement of a 20 year old

 

[Spin Diesel]

I saw a stat on TV that Sinner won something like 55% of the points when the ball was within the plane of the singles courts. But on balls that were contacted in the alley area (obviously bounced inside the court), Djokovic won more than 60% of the points. Basically, Sinner didn‘t know how to move to wide balls on grass, stop, change direction and recover - he is used to sliding and he doesn’t know how to take small steps on grass without sliding and then change direction. This is a key advantage that Djokovic has on grass against almost all players that doesn’t get talked about enough - he is a master of moving on grass and he makes others who are more of novices pay with wide balls and changes of angles.

How well will Alcaraz move on grass tomorrow for wide balls? That might be the key to the match outcome as he has to do better than Sinner.

It was really too bad though, that the court was so slippery. Obviously Djokovic with his experience and superior movement had an easier time adjusting to the conditions.

But altogether I was quite disappointed by how Sinner approached his forehand. I thought his plan should have been to be a bit more conservative with it and wait for occasions to pull the trigger. Especially cause his movement was constrained by the conditions. He often tried to slap winners, when being out of position and not properly balanced. I found he played some brillant points with his backhand, with a bit more patience and margin. I wished he would have done the same on the FH-side.

 

[Milanez82]

Yeah now imagine that federer had carlos movement of a 20 year old

Being fast and moving well are two different things. Federer having 2 match points at Wimbledon 2019 were mostly thanks to his terrific movement.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

Being fast and moving well are two different things. Federer having 2 match points at Wimbledon 2019 were mostly thanks to his terrific movement.

Carlos is fast AND moves well, federer just moved well but he almost won that match because of shot making and tactical aproach, his movement was a shadow from what it once was.

 

[reaper]

Cahill seems to be painting a physical picture of what was a psychological capitulation. My recollection is that Sinner had break points in the opening game that he failed to convert. He was abysmal in the final set tie breaker and very poor every time he got to 30-30 or better on Djokovic's serve. He could deal with Djokovic's tactics until the points became important.

 

[rigged]

If he'll play the BP's, SP's, MP's and the points before that (30-30, deuce, 30-0, 30-15) like he plays when he's down 0-40 on his serve, I have no doubt that he'll win a lot of slams, beating top players en-route.

 

[A_Instead]

The guy with the thickest head of black hair will win...

 

[A_Instead]

Well..I guess it's settled.

 

[Soul_of_Slicehand]

The guy with the thickest head of black hair will win...

the one with the thickest cojones won