On the eve of the all-Italian Wimbledon derby with Matteo Berrettini Jannik Sinner’s coach speaks with Italian press about the state-of-the-art of the world No.1

How do you rate yesterday’s debut?

VAGNOZZI: Very well. The first few rounds are always tricky. Yesterday he was slipping a little too much, but we have to consider that the courts are really very wet. Here at Wimbledon the first rounds are always difficult. This is so typical of grass events and Halle proved it.

Were there any differences compared to Halle?

VAGNOZZI: We won a great match yesterday; Halle is clear evidence of the fact that grass-court matches are always so close. We won three matches in the third set there as well, going through difficult moments. Even yesterday it wasn’t easy against Hanfmann who at a certain point started playing very well.

What are the difficulties in facing an opponent you already know well like Matteo Berrettini? Does it change your routine?

VAGNOZZI: The routine is always the same. The only difference is that it is a derby, but by now we are used to this too. Playing against the Italians is ever so frequent because there are so many of them around that it’s almost normal to play derbies.

In terms of technique, in recent years you have definitely worked very much on the angled crosscourt forehand followed by coming into the net. How important is this shot on grass?

VAGNOZZI: There are a lot of little things that make the difference, like the fact that you are more confident in slicing balls, the fact that you have added some serve and volleys to your gameplay, which on this surface you always need. Knowing that you have fewer weaknesses that your opponent can delve into certainly helps.

How have you been spending the day before this match with Berrettini?

VAGNOZZI: Today we have already finished training. Jannik is also a good meteorologist, because he chose to train at 11 o’clock, so we finished before the rain [or maybe he wanted to go and watch Anna Kalinskaya’s match in the afternoon]. We’ve been training with Sonego, now there’s physio, and he’ll probably be cooking tonight.

Have you noticed any changes since he became world No. 1?

VAGNOZZI: He’s always the same guy, we always set ourselves new goals: this year he’s won his first Grand Slam, he’s become No. 1 in the world, and now we have to stay No. 1 and go and win a few more Slams. His attitude with us hasn’t changed, I don’t know if he’s changed with you…

Were you surprised that he opened up very cooly about his relationship with Kalinskaya?

VAGNOZZI: He’s definitely growing up, and as he gets older he takes on more responsibility. He’s willing to show more of his personality.

Can the physical work aimed at gaining 3-4 kg of muscle be considered accomplished and finished, even if you obviously never stop working and trying to improve?

VAGNOZZI: I think so, maybe you can still put on a few more muscles, but not too much, because you shouldn’t overdo it by putting too much mass. However, these are questions you should ask Umberto [Ferrara, Sinner’s physical coach]. From my point of view, I believe that his qualities must remain speed, rapidity in moving, and if you go to put on too much muscle mass you lose something elsewhere. He doesn’t need more strength, the ball comes off his racquet pretty fast.

Is there a shot that you consider Jannik’s litmus test? What tells you if it’s a good day or not?

VAGNOZZI: Jannik is a very complete player, but when he comes out on  the court and hits his backhand cleanly,

Botic van de Zandschulp knows what it is like to go through the highs and lows as a professional tennis player. 

The Dutch 28-year-old is best remembered for his run to the quarter-finals of the 2021 US Open, where he upset Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman. In that tournament, he was the only person to take a set off Daniil Medvedev, who went on to claim the title. The following year, he reached the last 16 at Wimbledon and peaked at a ranking high of 22nd in the world. He is yet to win a title but is a two-time runner-up at the Bavarian International Tennis Championships in Germany. 

There have also been periods of frustration for Zandschulp who is currently ranked 97th in the world after briefly dropping out of the top 100 between April and May. That was the first time he had been outside the top 100 in almost four years. He has yet to win back-to-back main draw matches on the ATP Tour this year and recently spoke openly about contemplating his future in the sport. 

Although this year’s Wimbledon could provide an opportunity for him to regain some much-needed momentum in his career. He began his campaign at the Grand Slam on Monday with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, win over Britain’s Liam Broady. Following the victory, Ubitennis spoke with him about a range of subjects ranging from his future in tennis to the current state of the men’s game. 

UBITENNIS: Congratulations on your win. How do you feel about your latest performance? 

ZANDSCHULP: It was a little bit on and off, I think I started pretty well. In the first four games, I played well and then I took the foot off the gas a little bit, let him play a little bit better and gave him the feeling that maybe there was something to get.

I should have at 4-0 maybe make it five zero and then six one or six one in the end.  Give him the feeling that there’s that it’s going to be tough. He turned it a little bit around in a second and I think from the third on I started to play better and create more chances in his service game and I’m happy with the win overall. 

UBITENNIS: It has been a difficult season for you. How much confidence does this win give you?

ZANDSCHULP: I think Liam is a really good player on grass. I think he’s always doing well here in Wimbledon. I think it’s a tough tough draw. He is coming back from from injury. So I didn’t know didn’t know what to expect, how he was feeling or how he was playing. I’ve been practising really well but I think winning a match is always the best feeling there is. 

UBITENNIS: After the French Open, you spoke about how you were unsure about your future in the sport. Four weeks have passed since then so how are you feeling now? 

ZANDSCHULP: I took two weeks off after the Dutch tournament. Before coming here (to Wimbledon) I didn’t play matches.

I took the two weeks off to put everything in perspective. See how I was feeling about about everything and find the reasons why I’m playing actually. And yeah, I found the found the right reason. So at the moment, I’m enjoying to play and let’s see. Let’s see how long it keeps going like this. 

UBITENNIS: So do you have any goals now or is it a week-by-week journey?

ZANDSCHULP: No, I found the right reasons to play and the reasons why I enjoy playing tennis. Of course, I think tennis is a tough sport. You always have some periods where it’s going the right way and some periods when some tough losses, when you’re not playing well, not feeling well.

I think that’s part of the sport. I think it’s better to take a break, put everything in perspective and keep on playing. That’s what I did and now I’m here and enjoying being here on the court. 

UBITENNIS: You reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2022 and the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2021, do you feel you still have this level of tennis to go deep in a Grand Slam again? 

ZANDSCHULP: Yeah, I think so. I made the third round in Australia and the third round in Paris. I proved at all the slams that I’m capable of playing on all the surfaces.

I’m physically well. I don’t mind playing five sets. So physically, I think I’m up for it to go deep in the in the slams. Right now I think my tennis needs to be a little bit better and little bit more confident.

To go deep in the slams. I think the levels are never far away. I’m practising really well. I think eventually it’s coming back.

UBITENNIS: Thinking about men’s tennis over the last five years, what do you think has improved the most and what do you think can be better? 

ZANDSCHULP: The level is quite deep. I think these days everybody’s an unbelievably good player. Everyone is physically well. Everybody is quick on the court. Making a lot of balls but also have a lot of power I think these days.
Sinner and Alcaraz, I think at the moment they are dominating most of the tour. The tennis (level) now is quite deep. I think when you go into certain ATP tournaments, I think all of the players can win a tournament. In the 250s, in the 500s. 
Of course, what I said is if Alcaraz or Sinner playing, then it’s a different kind of situation. I think everybody’s making each other better. 
It’s not a guarantee. If you’re top 10, Top 20, or Top 30 that you stay there. The competition is very tough.

Note: Zandschulp goes on to speak about scheduling.

Everybody’s playing a lot. Some players are playing every week. I think that’s also new.
I think everybody’s playing more and more these days. When you’re Sinner or Alcaraz, you can choose a little bit more what you play and what you don’t play. But I think you have to be really good mentally, to be able to also skip tournaments, for example.
And don’t be afraid that if you don’t play that, you may lose two spots on the ranking or three spots because other people are playing. You need you need to take care of yourself physically, and mentally to play a good full year, I think.
I think it’s tough to play like some players are playing 35 tournaments,
everybody has their own approach. And I think that’s, that’s, that’s also a nice way these days. 

UBITENNIS: You talk about players playing every week. Do you see more of your peers suffer from burnout as a result?

ZANDSCHULP: Maybe but I also think it’s like where you’re from. If you’re from South America or Australia, I think it’s it’s a little bit tougher to go back home during the Europe swing, for example. So yeah. What do you do? You’re gonna play the tournament, instead of being somewhere else for a week. 

I don’t know how, how long you can keep it up. Of course, some players are doing a little bit longer playing every week.

Also, some guys are just starting. Maybe you see it in the long run. Maybe you see people who play more like who played every year, week in and week out. Maybe they don’t have a long career as somebody who’s playing 25 weeks a year for example. That’s something that’s something we will see in the future. I think that’s I think at the moment it’s tough to say.

UBITENNIS: Finally, what would make a good second half of the season for you?

ZANDSCHULP: Last year I was injured after Wimbledon. I didn’t play a lot. I only played the US Open but I was struggling there and twisted my ligaments. For me, the second half of the season feels like there’s a lot for me to win. 

I can play freely. I always liked the US swing. The swing afterwards, I think is really nice as well. 

The first season of the first half of the season wasn’t great. A lot of things can go better. But I’m looking forward to the second half of the season and the remaining matches here at Wimbledon. 

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has told Ubitennis that organizers are ‘unwilling’ to recognize the issue surrounding late-night matches following a recent example at the French Open involving their co-founder. 

Novak Djokovic didn’t finish his third round match against Lorenzo Musetti until 3:07am on Sunday at the Grand Slam due to an extra match being added to the line-up on Philippe Chatrier. The first week of the tournament has been affected by poor weather with matches getting postponed, cancelled or moved elsewhere at the Grand Slam. Djokovic returned to the court less than 48 hours later to play Francisco Cerundolo where he sustained a knee injury during his five-set victory and has now been forced to withdraw from the tournament. 

In a statement, the PTPA has called for a collective gathering to take place so the issue of late-night matches can be addressed. Recently the WTA and ATP have laid out a framework to stop matches being started beyond 11pm unless both the tournament supervisor and players agree to do so. However, the four major events each have their own governing body and are therefore not affected by these rules. 

“It’s imperative that Grand Slam and tour leaders, tournament organizers, and players – through the PTPA as their advocacy group – come together to explore and determine a solution for preventing late-night finishes, whether that is a curfew or an alternate resolution,” the PTPA told Ubitennis via email. 
“We know that late-night finishes have tremendous negative consequences and force players into unfair, unsafe, and unhealthy working conditions. Yet these late finishes continue to happen because of an unwillingness to acknowledge the issue and prioritize players’ best interests.”

In recent days, some players have spoken out about playing into the early hours of the morning. One of the latest to do so is Ons Jabeur who also sits on the PTPA’s players’ committee. Speaking to reporters following her quarter-final loss to Coco Gauff in Paris, the Tunisian says it ‘isn’t healthy’ to have late-night matches for all of those involved. 

“We deserve a better scheduling. We talked about this in Australia. We are still talking about this here,” said Jabeur.
“Even for you, the journalists, I don’t think it’s healthy to have these night matches. It’s for everybody I’m speaking…
“We have to find a way out so that everybody is happy — the players, the journalists, the full team.
“The ball kids are young and they’re still on the courts when it’s really late. I don’t know if it’s logical to have all that.”

Meanwhile, women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek says she prefers day sessions because she likes to ‘sleep normally.’ However, the Pole adds that she and her peers need to accept what is thrown at them as they have limited say on such matters. 

When asked about Swiatek’s remarks, PTPA says their objective is to give a voice to those players. The organization was co-founded by Djokovic and Vasel Pospisil, who are both now listed as directors. It aims to campaign for players to have a greater say in the decision-making process as an independent entity. Although they have been accused of trying to divide the sport, which the PTPA denies, and others argue that the Tour’s already have their own player councils. 

“Unfortunately, to Iga’s point, players have historically had no say in scheduling, and that is exactly why the PTPA exists – to amplify their collective voice and to advocate on their behalf.” They said.
“We are committed to protecting players’ well-being and empowering them to compete to their highest ability. It’s long overdue that tennis’ stakeholders come together to explore and vet viable, logical solutions that protect players, and we look forward to being part of the solution.”

Another ongoing argument at the French Open concerns the evening match slot, which featured male players every day at this year’s tournament.  Wednesday will also be the fifth day in a row that the women’s matches have been scheduled to take place before the men’s on their premier court. However, a reason for this happening is due to the women’s semi-finals and final being scheduled a day earlier. 

“There are a multitude of factors that impact scheduling, including matchup quality, but gender should not inherently be one of these factors.” The PTPA states.
“The PTPA believes in equitable opportunity for men’s and women’s players, as indicated in our official principles. No player or matchup should be deprioritized based on gender alone.”

There is yet to be any specific response from French Open organizers regarding the issue of late-night matches and the selection of which players will play in the evening slot. However, these topics will likely be addressed later this week in their annual end-of-tournament press conference.