Sinner opens up on splitting with Djokovic's ex-coaches on eve of Wimbledon
Jannik Sinner has opted to split with physiotherapist Ulises Badio and fitness coach Marco Panichi, who both previously worked with Novak Djokovic, on the eve of Wimbledon but insists there's "nothing major" behind the decision.
The Italian heads to SW19 off the back of a shock second round defeat at his warm-up tournament in Halle and has since rejigged his team. The world No.1 is still working with coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill.
Sinner, who recently returned from a doping ban, has been among the tour's most successful players over the past 18 months. He's won three of the last six Grand Slams but is looking to make an impact at Wimbledon for the first time.
The 23-year-old has played down the changes behind the scene however despite them coming so close to his efforts at the All England Club.
He said: "Nothing major happened. Nothing big happened. 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. Yeah, so I'm here to play good tennis. I think that's my main goal, the main reason why I'm here. 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."
Sinner added: "As I said, we made some great work. For me the final in Roland Garros was an amazing achievement. That's it. Look, in this sport things can happen. There is nothing incredible, no, because sometimes a player feels something different, and that's my case."
The Italian was recently on the received end of a stunning Carlos Alcaraz comeback with the Spaniard winning the French Open recently despite trailing by two sets to Sinner. The Italian had three championship points in the fourth set before later losing in a five-set thriller.
Sinner has once made the semi-finals at Wimbledon, that coming in 2023 when he was beaten by Djokovic. Last year he was ousted in the last eight when Daniil Medvedev beat him, although the Italian was not playing at 100 percent after calling for his trainer.
Djokovic was quizzed on Sinner's decision to cut two coaches who previously worked with him and said: "I did work with Marco and Uli, and I think they are phenomenal professionals that both have contributed also a lot to me, to my team, to my success.
"I don't know what the reasons are for the split with Jannik. It came as a surprise to me as well because I think Jannik's game and body really has improved so much in the last year, year and a half. They've been an integral part of that team. I don't know, to be honest."
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