After the news of the doping incident was made known to the public, Jannik Sinner was scrutinised by several major publications, experts, and fans. With many in the sporting world directly or indirectly labelling him as a cheat, Sinner could’ve been mentally exhausted. However, this is where Darren Cahill helped the Italian the most, which enabled the World No.1 to be focused and ultimately win the US Open 2024.
Following Sinner’s 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win in the finals over Taylor Fritz, Cahill joined the ESPN+ABC broadcast for a short interview. During this interview, the 58-year-old gave insights on numerous things such as his role and what he communicated to Sinner that motivated the latter to lift the Grand Slam trophy.
Cahill did a great job in retaining Sinner’s self-belief. Additionally, apart from trying to prevent the outside noise get to his head, the coach also kept ensuring to the 23-year-old that the latter didn’t do anything wrong.
“A lot of what’s been going on within the team has laid on my shoulders to keep a sense of things, to keep his focus on what we’re trying to achieve, to make sure I continually tell him he’s done nothing wrong. So whatever happens, hold your head up high, because you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong,” Cahill said.
The former coach of Andre Agassi further disclosed the conversation that took place before the championship match on Sunday. Cahill lauded the San Candido native for showing a lot of resilience over the past month and approaching the game with honesty. Ultimately, Cahill’s instruction to his pupil was to “go out and enjoy”.
“Even before the match, I spoke to him about the fact that he’s handled himself in a way in the last three or four weeks that has shown honesty, he’s had resilience, building resilience, and he’s got everything to be proud of, so go out and enjoy today, because you absolutely belong to be there,” Cahill concluded.
There are no words to describe how much I admire this man.
He was never just a coach but much much more.
Grazie @darren_cahill ❤️ pic.twitter.com/lyscyCZRG9
— Janniksin_Updates (@JannikSinner_Up) September 9, 2024
Since the doping incident, Cahill has also been massively criticised. While some accused the coach of being aware of the Clostebol present in Sinner’s body, others attacked him for failing to come clean when answering questions during interviews. Hence, the US Open 2024 win must’ve also been a huge relief for Cahill and the rest of the team.
