Jannik Sinner, debate remains heated: Andre Agassi enters the fray

Jannik Sinner continues to make headlines in Paris even a week after his unexpected elimination in the second round of Roland Garros. Keeping the discussion about the world number one alive was Andre Agassi, speaking in the news station of ‘TNT Sports’: the Las Vegas kid had his say about what happened last Thursday in the match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, without hiding some critical points even towards what has been his coach, Darren Cahill, now supercoach of the Blue.

“I’m telling the truth: Sinner’s elimination was sensational,” Agassi began. “When I played, I had a sort of internal clock of about four hours: if a day of strong heat happened I would collapse even after three hours and forty-five, with better conditions I would get to four hours and ten, to say. But to see him collapse after an hour and forty-five, to see him give up like that … is something that is striking.”

“There is a difference between being fit and being prepared,” he added, “Obviously something in the preparation didn’t work, because there are arrangements to avoid episodes like that. You can’t say that he doesn’t work hard, or that he’s not in shape. He was one game away from victory, and we all thought he could go on in the tournament without losing a single set.”

“What would I say to Darren Cahill? Today’s approach to preparation and recovery is extremely scientific. I’m sure Sinner has a staff of doctors and specialists following him, because at this level nothing can be left to chance. Something, however, needs to be revised, perhaps involving another expert, because it was probably a problem related to hydration,” Agassi again explained, sinking the blow.

“When I played in Australia,” he recalled, “with that oppressive heat and best-of-five-set matches, in the twenty-four hours before each match I drank 10-12 liters of water, adjusted the percentage of carbohydrates and proteins, and followed a precise strategy for recovery. My logic was simple: better to have too much water in and not need it than the other way around. My question is precisely whether Sinner had enough.”

Agassi’s, specifically, is not a rejection but is meant to stand as constructive criticism: “I speak without knowing in detail his preparation: Sinner he has already shown that he can play at a very high level for five and a half hours, he is the best player on the planet. The fact remains, however, that there is no excuse for going against a wall after an hour and forty-five.”