Jannik Sinner has known about Lilli Tagger’s potential for some time now.
Sinner won Indian Wells last week, and is hoping to make history as just the eighth man to complete the sunshine double at the Miami Open.
The world number two has made a positive start to his bid for the Miami Open title, with Sinner beating Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-3.
After a comfortable first win in Miami, Sinner was asked about Tagger, who he trained with when she was as young as 14 years old.
Jannik Sinner praises ‘very talented’ and ‘very different’ Lilli Tagger
Like Sinner, 18-year-old Tagger also has a background in winter sports, having both skied and played ice hockey.
When asked about Tagger in his post-match press conference, Sinner praised the young Austrian for her unique game style, as one of the few players on the WTA Tour to have a one-handed backhand.
Sinner also explained that skiing helped prepare him more mentally for tennis, rather than in terms of his balance when playing.
“Yeah, I know her actually very well. She’s a very talented player. Very talented,” said Sinner. “Very different than we saw now, especially women’s tennis. She’s someone who likes to play tennis. You see the passion. I think that’s the main thing a player should have.
“Coming from a background like this, I think it helps you mentally a little bit. For me skiing gave me more mentally than maybe having the balance on the court. I think that’s more secondary. Mentally for me was, like, skiing you can hurt yourself. In tennis you just go for it. Worst case you lose a match. It’s very different.
“Yeah, she’s in process trying to understand what her game style is really. But that’s also right. She’s very, very young.
“She had great opportunities to see the level of the top players now in Indian Wells and Miami. She goes back home now with good feedback. I think that’s the best for someone very young can happen.”
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Why was Lilli Tagger compared to Carlos Alcaraz?
Tagger made history for her nation last year, becoming the first Austrian to win a junior title at Roland Garros.
She did this with former Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone in her support team, and this led to comparisons to Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz was coached by Juan Carlos Ferrero from the age of 16 until last year, and tennis podcaster Roddy Reynolds once drew comparisons between the Spaniard and Tagger on The Grind podcast.
“Massive Alcaraz, Juan Carlos Ferrero energy, 100 per cent,” Reynolds said about Tagger.
“There’s this story of… Juan Carlos Ferrero got offered to coach, I can’t remember who it was at the time, but let’s say it was a top 50 player, a top 20 player, and he turns around and goes ‘no, I’m good, I’ve got this kid.’
“He gets offered to coach a [inaudible] player, and Juan Carlos Ferrero goes ‘no, I’ve got this kid, he’s 16, he’s a freak. We’re going to be fine.’”
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Tagger has also been compared to Ash Barty in her young career, and she has impressed during the sunshine double.
After winning one main draw match at both Indian Wells and the Miami Open, Tagger is now set to reach a career-high ranking of world number 106, where she is currently placed in the live rankings.
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