'I'm Jannik Sinner's coach but I'm not surprised he lost to Carlos Alcaraz'

Simone Vagnozzi has confessed that he wasn't surprised by Jannik Sinner's disappointing loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the recent US Open final. The Italian was the top seed and defending champion in Flushing Meadows, but he was outclassed by Alcaraz and suffered a 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 defeat, also losing his world No. 1 ranking.

Sinner has been dominant on the hard courts over the last couple of years, but he looked lost at times in the US Open final. And Vagnozzi, who joined Sinner's team in 2022 along with Darren Cahill and helped to transform him into one of the world's best players, has admitted that Alcaraz was just too good.

"The loss in New York, in my opinion, isn't that surprising. At that point, Carlos was better than Jannik psychologically, physically, and tennis-wise," Vagnozzi told Corriere dello Sport.

"But we mustn't forget that he too had five difficult months, and today they're trying to make Jannik look like a player in crisis, in a year in which he won two Grand Slams and reached finals every week. He's doing extraordinary things. Plus, like everyone else, we always want to improve."

After his four-set defeat to Alcaraz in New York, Sinner claimed he was "too predictable" and said he was willing to start losing more matches if it meant he could make some adjustments to his game.

That work already seems to be paying off, as the world No. 2 lifted the trophy at the China Open earlier this week, beating teenager Learner Tien in the final.

Vagnozzi likes what he's seen from Sinner so far in China, and the Italian will now attempt to defend his crown at the Shanghai Masters, where he is now the highest-ranked player in the draw following Alcaraz's withdrawal. But there is still work to be done.

"You know, sometimes I'm surprised by how much people talk about certain things. Sometimes things work, sometimes less so," Sinner's coach said of the technical adjustments they had already made.

"In the United States, Jannik didn't serve very well, and we made some adjustments: his movement changed the day before arriving in China. During the first few days in Beijing, he adapted and then served very well.

"Then, it's clear that something new always needs to be added to the game, otherwise we become predictable. This doesn't mean Sinner has to become a serve-and-volley player.

"There are drop shots and slices, but also other variations, whether it's taking a down-the-line first, returning more aggressively, playing a kick, or going to the body. It's simply about improving; I don't find anything surprising about it."

Sinner will have the opportunity to keep improving when he meets Daniel Altmaier in his opening match at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday. But it could be a while before he faces Alcaraz again.

The next tournament they are both signed up to is the Paris Masters, taking place at the end of the month. They've also both qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin, and Spain and Italy could well meet in the Davis Cup Finals at the end of the season.