Aussie mastermind behind Jannik Sinner’s stunning Novak Djokovic upset

An Aussie has been credited with masterminding Jannik Sinner’s stunning upset that ended Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open reign.

Darren Cahill is coaching Jannik Sinner.

It’s no mean feat to beat Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

The Serbian had never lost a semi-final or final at Melbourne Park until Jannik Sinner thoroughly outplayed him in a four set blitz in the semis on Friday.

It was Djokovic’s first loss at the Australian Open since 2018, 2195 days ago, and could signal an end of an era as Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz close the gap on the seemingly ageless Djoker.

The powerful, long-limbed Sinner is a generational talent but he has a secret weapon sitting in his players box.

The 22-year-old is coached by Italian Simone Vagnozzi and Australian Darren Cahill, who joined Sinner’s team in 2022.

Cahill’s coaching CV speaks for itself. He helped Lleyton Hewitt become the youngest ever World No. 1 and coached Andre Agassi to grand slam titles as the American got a second wind in his thirties.

Cahill also coached Simona Halep to the World No. 1 ranking and the 2018 French Open title.

The 58-year-old has long been viewed as one of the sharpest minds in tennis and is being credited with giving Sinner the belief to beat Djokovic three times in the last few months.

Jannik Sinner’s Australian coach Darren Cahill. Pic: Michael Klein

The Italian superstar has an Aussie secret weapon in his corner. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Cahill, an Adelaide local, was in Sinner’s box along with Port Adelaide premiership coach Mark Williams as Sinner ended Djokovic’s reign in Melbourne.

The Italian paid tribute to his coaching team and said Cahill had a calming effect on him.

“Yeah, for sure he’s always very relaxed,” Sinner said.

“Even this morning, you know, we talk about normal things. Not always about tennis. Then 20 minutes before the match, we talk about tactics, how to handle certain situations.

“I think he helped not only me but I think the whole team to believe in ourself, but also to enjoy, because we travel so much around the world, and to enjoy the time together is really important.

“I think the combination with him and also with Simone, it’s awesome on the court. I think at the moment we are handling everything in the right way.”

Djokovic said of Sinner: “He’s got a great team, he’s on a very good path. He’s going to have a chance in couple days to win his first Grand Slam.”

Jannik Sinner is chasing his maiden grand slam title. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

Legendary American tennis coach Brad Gilbert was one of many tennis pundits to acknowledge Cahill’s influencer on the ever improving Sinner.

Holy Toledo what a effort from Sin City 🌃 @janniksin taking out Djoker to make 1st slam final @AustralianOpen most impressively didn’t face a BP in 4 sets @darren_cahill 👌😎👍💪👊

— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) January 26, 2024

And hats off to Darren Cahill @darren_cahill. One of the greatest wins. #AusOpen#JannikSinner

— Neil McMahon (@NeilMcMahon) January 26, 2024

Darren Cahill deserves a ton of credit for where Sinner is. His talent has been there for years but he seemed just a step away from the top. Seems Cahill found that extra bit he needed and the ATP better look out!

— Ryan (@holyschick) January 26, 2024

It's pretty impressive of @darren_cahill The players he has worked with that have been winners or finalists at the majors - Andre Agassi, Simona Halep, Lleyton Hewitt and now Jannik Sinner.

— Craig Gabriel (@crosscourt1) January 26, 2024

Darren Cahill, take your flowers!

Jannik Sinner is so privileged to have you in his team, Sir @darren_cahill.
You deserve this. 👏🏾

— Biola Solace-Chukwu (@Beeorlicious) January 26, 2024

Darren Cahill analysing Sinner’s potential opponent in the #AusOpen final 👀

He’s done a remarkable job. Arguably the best tennis coach around! pic.twitter.com/Lh37psJfjB

— Christian Montegan (@monte_sports) January 26, 2024

“My role with Jannik is a little bit different to the other coaching roles that I’ve had. 99 per cent of the credit for the coaching goes to Simone,” Cahill explained after the victory.

“He’s done an incredible job with Jannik. I’m more overseeing everything.

“Certainly we discuss tactics and the technical (side) and everything, but Simone is the guy driving a lot of what you see with the improvements of Jannik and he’s doing an incredible job. And Jannik is absorbing a lot of that information.

“The match he played against Novak at Wimbledon went a long way to teaching Jannik where he needed to get better. When he was up two sets to love and lost that match against Novak, we sat down and talked about where the improvements needed to be made.

“And credit to him, he absorbed it. For us as tennis coaches, it was really rewarding to see him on the court today do some of those things.

“It was great to learn from that match (at Wimbledon) and see him go with Novak early in the third and fourth. He did a great job to absorb that pressure from Novak and I thought the last couple of sets was amazing tennis from both players.”

Sinner clearly has immense confidence in big matches. He made Alex de Minaur look second rate as Italy stormed to victory over Australia in last year’s Davis Cup final.

Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi are coaching Jannik Sinner. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Cahill brought some classic Aussie humour in a cameo appearance in Sinner’s post-match press conference following his charge’s win over Djokovic.

“It’s a crappy job,” he joked.

“We’re not paid enough, the guy gives us a hard time all the time and he’s forever taking our money in card games and he gets a lot of enjoyment out of that stuff.”

After joking around Cahill was straight back to work, watching Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev battle it out in the other semi-final on Rod Laver Arena.

Sinner is the heavy favourite to beat 2022 runner-up Medvedev in Sunday night’s final as he chases his maiden grand slam title.

If he wins, it will be another sign of the changing of the guard in men’s tennis, as well as another tick on Cahill’s coaching resume.