In an exclusive interview with the newspaper La Stampa, Simone Vagnozzi talked about the most complicated period of Jannik Sinner's career, the one in which the young Italian was tested positive for Clostebol, a doping substance as an anabolic steroid. Jannik immediately demonstrated his innocence through an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency, but WADA appealed to the TAS in Lausanne to get to the bottom of the matter. The Italian coach has never left Jannik alone and has become over time one of the secrets of the current number 1 in the men's world ranking.
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"These were not easy months. We tried to give him as much support as possible, avoiding thinking about what we could not control. Having a clear conscience helped us. Words from some colleagues and insiders? If you talk about something, you have to be informed. The sentence is 50 pages long, I don't know how many have read them. You can't make comparisons with different cases, like that of Simona Halep. But in the locker room everyone knows that Jannik did nothing wrong. If I were a less serene player than Sinner, I would be worried knowing that I had no advantage, I did everything possible to avoid contamination, and yet I still risk disqualification," he analyzed.
Vagnozzi, in the same interview, then talkedabout other issues related to his player, such as his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, underlining how the young Italian will never be like Carlitos.
"Jannik will never be Alcaraz, his tennis is different. But he can vary his serve more, improve his backhand slice. He added the forehand drop shot, then the backhand one will come, he can read the moments of the match better. It was a year full of firsts: the first Slam victory, the first time as number one in the world. We also had to deal with problems that we all know. You have to know how to adapt. The most credit goes to Jannik, who enters the court every day with the right motivation. 2025? The most important word is balance. When things are going well you have to try to upset as little as possible, inserting something new. Compared to two years ago, Jannik is more complete, physically stronger, he has more experience. The dish is almost ready, but you can't rest on your laurels. And entering the court knowing you're doing something new helps, it's fundamental for motivation," he explained.
