Carlos Alcaraz forced Wimbledon rival Jannik Sinner to break strict two-week diet

Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill has revealed the Italian responded to his heartbreaking French Open final defeat by breaking his diet. Sinner found himself on the wrong end of a five-set thriller last month after being two sets up and dropping three championship points against Carlos Alcaraz.

The 23-year-old had won the previous two Grand Slams after triumphing at last year's US Open and clinching the Australian Open in January, but there were concerns that the impact of Sinner's loss in Paris could continue at Wimbledon. His coach attempted to quash the doubts ahead of Sinner's opening victory against compatriot Luca Nardi. However, Cahill admitted that losing to Alcaraz led Sinner to instantly break his strict diet after the tennis star was spotted leaving Roland Garros holding a jar of sweets.

In an interview with ESPN, shared by Tennis Tonic, Cahill recalled Sinner's actions after the French Open defeat: "I must say, about half an hour afterwards, he went and did the press," he said. "We were walking to transport. We had this big bus where we all sit in and for the players they have this candy jar that you can take a couple of candies [from] as you walk out of Roland Garros. He took the whole jar!

"He grabbed the glass jar, had the candies, he'd been on a strict diet for two weeks and that was it. The diet was out the window.." However, the 59-year-old explained Sinner was not despondent after the result.

"In the car, he was handing candies out to everyone," Cahill recounted. "He was laughing, he was giggling. He moved on pretty quickly and it'll be interesting to see how he moves on here because this will be the big test."

Despite Sinner's setback in Paris, Cahill is confident that the world No.1 has put the past behind him. The three-time major winner reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2023 and Cahil believes that Sinner could be set for his best-ever run at the All England Club.

"He's had his best week of practice on grass that he's ever had. He's rejuvenated, he's fresh, mentally he looks good," Cahill said. "The first couple of matches will be interesting. He has to get his teeth into the tournament, but if he can get through the first couple of matches, he'll be completely fine."

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Cahill explained how Sinner managed to move on quickly from the Alcaraz result: "He knows he's got 10 or 12 years at the top of the game if he continues to work the way he's working. He knows he's going to have a lot more chances against Carlos Alcaraz in finals. They'll play a lot of big matches and he'll get his wins.

"The fact also that, had he won that tournament, we'd be competing here for the Sinner slam. He would have had three in a row. So he knows he's around the mark, he's improving all the time on grass."

Sinner proved his coach right as he breezed through to the second round on Tuesday. He will face Aleksandar Vukic in the next round and showcased the positive mentality that Cahill had discussed after his win over Nardi.

"It's a new tournament with new chances and new challenges. I will try to keep going and enjoy playing here," Sinner told reporters. "If you don't enjoy playing on these courts, I don't know where you will enjoy. I'm very happy to be here, so let's see what is coming."