Sinner, there’s a very specific reason behind his absence in Miami: here’s what happened and why he decided to forfeit.
He was the favorite in Indian Wells and he is also the favorite in Miami, but if there is one thing the California Masters 1000 has taught us, it is that you should never take anything for granted. Least of all now that Carlos Alcaraz has awakened from his “torpor” and started playing with his usual grit again. And then there’s Daniil Medvedev, who we all know is a real time bomb.
So theoretically anything could happen in Florida’s coolest city, where Jannik Sinner last year hit the final, only to be beaten by the Moscow native himself. In Miami, among other things, we will also witness the return of Matteo Berrettini to the major circuit, reasoning that we will see some good things. Too bad only for that absence that could, in theory, make everything a bit more complicated. For that forfeit that no one had counted on and that could make all the difference.
In the box reserved for the world number 3’s team there will not be, just as in Indian Wells, his coach, Simone Vagnozzi. He was supposed to be reunited with the rest of the team right in Miami, but that will not be the case. The coach, who took over from Riccardo Piatti two years ago, will return directly for the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, which begins on April 14 in the setting of the Principality’s most exclusive country club.
Sinner, excused absentee: here’s why he won’t be there
There is a very specific reason, if the coach had no choice but to give up, again, the pleasure of accompanying his protégé on the trip. “Simone Vagnozzi was supposed to join the team,” reads the Gazzetta dello Sport, “but he is still recovering from a minor surgery […]. The coach from the Marche region will restart training on clay in Monte Carlo when he returns from the United States. “
Daddy Hanspeter has also returned to Italy, having fed the entire team for the duration of the trip to California, but Jannik is certainly no orphan. Along with him is Darren Cahill, whom he has always spoken of as an extremely reassuring presence, a pillar keeping up the morale of everyone on the team.
Sinner is in very good hands, then, and even the elbow discomfort, spotted in Indian Wells, seems to have disappeared. “Physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi has been working on the joint, and the blow to the wrist suffered in the fall during the semifinal has also left no after-effects,” wrote the Gazette. We will see, then, if Miami holds some pleasant surprises in store for us.
