Making Jannik a sinner

Cena lived with a Croatian family to give him as normal a life as possible despite being far away from home. He has kept in touch with that family throughout his rise through the ranks of the sport.

Piatti remembers a strong personality and character with a good sense of humor, while coach Andrea Volpini – who traveled with Sinner early in his career – recalls more typical teenage traits.

He remembers a sociable teenager who enjoyed “simple things” like football, ice cream and – when time allowed – a trip to the karting track. Volpini also accompanied him to Ciner’s hometown.

“I went running with him up the hill. It was difficult to follow him – he knew all the turns and jumps, and it was not easy for me,” recalls Volpini.

“He spent a lot of time away and then came back there (to regenerate), to find new energy to restart.”

Cena also differs from many of his generation in that he has never played a junior Grand Slam. Piatti chose to send him to play on the Futures Tour, the lowest level of men’s professional tennis.

“In our opinion, he was ready to play them – not to win, but these tournaments gave him more possibilities to work on his goals,” Volpini explained.

Had some easy practice partners from time to time. Roger Federer was a visitor at the academy and on multiple occasions Cena practiced with Djokovic in Monte Carlo.

“The first time you face these great players, maybe the more important (off-court) moments, are when you sit down and take a break,” Volpini added.

“We always push Janic to ask a question. I remember once in Monte Carlo when Novak gave him some advice on his forehand – don’t push but try to find a little angle.”

Sinner’s forehand is now one of his biggest weapons and is aided by a superb serve and Djokovic-like movement around the court.

“I had the impression that this guy was the type of player who could beat Novak because they were similar – the movement was very similar,” Piatti added.

“The idea was to hit the ball faster than the other, especially to Djokovic.”