Jannik Sinner has disclosed that his team avoids wearing white caps due to a poor win rate whenever they do so. The world No.1's entourage consistently dresses in matching colours throughout his matches, including his Wimbledon quarter-final victory over Jan-Lennard Struff.
Sinner, 24, cruised through in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to book his place in a tenth Grand Slam semi-final of his career, where he will face either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Novak Djokovic. It marks his second semi-final of the year following an early second-round exit at the French Open, and the Italian has now shed light on his coaching team's rather particular approach to their matchday wardrobe.
Sinner's Superstition Revealed
When quizzed about his team's co-ordinated appearance afterwards, Sinner smiled and said: "You need to ask my team, not me." Pressed further on whether he had any say in their outfits, he clarified: "No, I'm not in charge."
"The only colour I don't like is white hats for a certain reason. We have a not good win percentage when they have a white cap, so... But the rest they choose."
He later elaborated during a conversation with Clare Balding on the BBC, attributing the unwritten rule to his coach, Simone Vagnozzi. When the presenter enquired about the team's colour-coordinated look, Sinner reiterated that "you need to ask my coach."
Coach Sets the Rule
The Italian explained: "I need to think already about so many things, if I also need to think about what they have to wear... trust me, the day is long. But we have one rule, we said- actually Simone told me: 'no more white caps', because they are unlucky, apparently."
Although Sinner defeated Struff in straight sets, it was anything but plain sailing on Court No. 1. Reflecting on the match, Sinner acknowledged his opponent was "first of all a very, very tough player to play against. He deserves everything he has done and achieved in his career-a great person off the court."
Match Details and Heat Concerns
"In the beginning, I felt like he started better than me; I was struggling a bit. I tried to get into the match, I was serving a bit better, tried to stay there mentally, and of course, very happy to be back in the semi-finals here."
With the sun blazing down on Court No. 1, hats were very much in demand, prompting questions about Sinner's heat-related defeat at Roland Garros earlier this year. Responding with a grin, he said: "Thanks for reminding. We worked a lot, especially after Paris, trying to understand what went wrong there. It was a huge test today. I felt really comfortable on the physical side today, so a big step forward."
