Sawt Falasteen - Coaching upheaval won't dent Sinner's Wimbledon title charge

Sinner has opted to move on from Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist respectively, as he looks for a new direction following his painful French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.

The pair had been employed by Sinner since September 2024, helping him retain the Australian Open crown in January and reach the Roland Garros showpiece in June.

Asked if the decision might jeopardise his Wimbledon challenge over the next fortnight, Sinner was adamant it would be beneficial, with coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill still on his staff.

"I parted ways not long ago, but it's not affecting me. I feel ready to compete. I feel free. I feel me and my team, we are ready to do the best we can," Sinner told reporters at the All England Club on Saturday.

"We've reached incredible results in the past with them, so obviously huge thanks to them. We made some great job, but I decided to do something different.

"As I said, we made some great work. For me the final in Roland Garros was an amazing achievement. That's it."

Sinner explained the split was amical.

"Look, in this sport things can happen," he said. "Nothing crazy happened... sometimes a player feels something different, and that's my case.

"I'm here to show that I can play some good tennis also on grass."

Sinner has won three of the last six Grand Slams, but is still recovering from losing an epic French Open clash with Alcaraz.

The 23-year-old blew a two-set lead and wasted three match-points as Alcaraz staged a comeback for the ages to win in the final set tie-break.

Sinner has failed to reach the Wimbledon final in his four visits, with a last four appearance in 2023 ranking as his best effort.

- Passion for fashion -

The Italian's Wimbledon preparations were also dented by a shock last-16 defeat against Alexander Bublik in the grass-court event at Halle.

But top seeded Sinner, who will start his Wimbledon campaign against compatriot Luca Nardi, remains in confident mood.

"Feels good again after one year coming back here. I'm very happy. I have some good feelings," he said.

"We are practising very well. I feel ready to compete again."

Sinner's pursuit of a maiden Wimbledon crown could hinge on a potential heavyweight semi-final clash with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.

But rather than fret about that possible blockbuster tie, Sinner was in relaxed mood as he delved into his off-court hobbies.

Sinner recently released a duet with renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Titled Polvere e Gloria, which means Dust and Glory, the song features Sinner reciting speeches about winning and losing.

"That was the first time that I got to know him in person. It was very nice. Obviously he's an incredible artist. Just being part of this for me was amazing," Sinner said.

"Just something completely different. I would have never thought that I would be in these kind of things in the future."

Sinner has also indulged his passion for fashion by working with iconic brand Gucci.

"Gucci is Italian. To work with them, it's very nice," he said.

"I learn new things every time when I go on fashion shows. I like to ask why they use certain colours, and you see how they think about fashion.

"I'm not the guy who is going to show up with something to show off!"

B.Khalifa--SF-PST