Darren Cahill - The Better Maker
Wherever Darren Cahill unfolds his magic as a coach, things are mostly uphill.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Feb 17, 2023, 12:01 pm
Darren Cahill is omnipresent at major tennis tournaments. And still unbelievable. For example last year at Wimbledon. Cahill had just completed his duties as an expert for ESPN (still in his fine outfit), and he already had to go to the training ground, where Jannik Sinner was preparing for his next match. A few questions in between? No chance.
It is actually always instructive what the ex-professional has to say in his analyses. Especially very close to the court, where Cahill alternates with Brad Gilbert at the US Open. Hardly anyone gets to the heart of what's wrong with a player quite like Darren Cahill.
And he knows both sides of the coin: The now 57-year-old has worked with men with capacitors like Lleyton Hewitt or Andre Agassi, with women the time with Simona Halep certainly stands out. Although one should correctly use the plural here, because in between Cahill had to take a break from Halep. Or the other way around.
Cahill has been with Sinner since summer 2022
Years of experience also mean that Cahill recognizes very quickly when a task might not be promising. Just like with Amanda Anisimova, who the Australian coach left to her own devices after a short trial period in early 2022.
A few months later, Darren Cahill joined Jannik Sinner. Not as Head Coach (Simone Vagnozzi has this role). but as a competent advisor now also for smaller events. Like last week in Montpellier. Or this one in Rotterdam. It is difficult to estimate how large Darren Cahill's share in Sinners' success against Stefanos Tsitsipas was. After all, the Greek had won against Sinner in Australia despite the presence of Cahill.
But there is no question that the still only 21-year-old South Tyrolean is continuously developing with the help of Darren Cahill. Tonight there is the next test for this thesis in Rotterdam against Stan Wawrinka.