Djokovic may need a volleyer as a coach to clinch Roland Garros title

Centre Court Column By Deborah Curtis-Setchell

Proceedings on Court Pietrangeli this past week have put a smile on the face of every statuesque Roman god and gladiator lining the perimeter of Foro Italico – indeed it has been a monumental week for Italian tennis.

Not only has World No 1 Jannik Sinner re-entered the ATP fray and surpassed expectation after three months of not competing, but his younger compatriots have been inspired to simultaneously excel.

Matteo Arnaldi sent GOAT Novak Djokovic prematurely packing 6-3 6-4 in Madrid, precipitated the Serb’s withdrawal from Rome, while Lorenzo Musetti felled defending champion Alexander Zverev 7-6(2) 6-4 in the Rome quarters in arguably the match of the tournament with mercurial shot-making, eclipsing even the mighty Carlos Alcaraz, as the “drop-shot king”.

As a result, it will be the first time since the inception of the Open era that two Italian men have made it into the last four of the Rome Masters.

Not to be outdone, in the WTA draw, feisty Jasmine Pasolini fought back in her semis clash against American Peyton Stearns to prevail 7-5 6-1 and become the first Italian woman in a decade to reach the Rome final – since her doubles partner Sarah Errani achieved this feat.

Leading the way, top dog Sinner, no doubt buoyed by his audience with the new American pope, Leo X1V – a tennis fan who quipped that he was unsure whether he should be meeting with a ‘sinner’ – steamrollered Madrid champion Casper Ruud 6-0 6-1 to catapult himself into the semis.

However, make no mistake, there’s a non-Italian equally stealing the limelight and that is reinstated World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who’s had a much tougher draw than Sinner, to progress to the semi-finals.

Alcaraz had to face off against the in-form Indian Wells champion Jack Draper, who upset the Spaniard on the grass of Queens Club in 2024.

But on clay, with a rowdy crowd vocally rooting for Europeans over and above Brits, Draper was forced to swallow  a disappointing 6-4 6-4 defeat, with his father, a former Lawn Tennis CEO, making a rare appearance in Draper’s box.

Yet, the British No 1 is destined to be only the fourth Brit in history to achieve a No 4 ranking should he continue to notch up significant wins at Roland Garros.

Once again, big-serving volleyers have outperformed entrenched baseliners at this sought after event.

Interestingly, Sinner’s ‘points won at net’ tally has literally trebled since his ‘time out’...

Meanwhile, further afield, in the build-up to Roland Garros, Djokovic dropped the bombshell that he and coach, former No 1 Andy Murray, are amicably splitting as a team.

This comes as no surprise, given when Murray was initially announced as the Serbian king’s coach pre the Australian Open, one could see no obvious benefits to Djokovic, and none have materialised.

In fact, it’s been disastrous from the start, with one exception in terms of results. The Serb made it to the finals in Miami, only to be beaten in two tiebreakers by his protégé, Jacob Mensik.

If the 24-time Grand Slam winner wants to make Roland Garros his 25th title, he, like Sinner, is going to have to treble, or at the very least double his forecourt forays.

That will require a coach who was primarily a volleyer rather than a baseliner at the peak of their playing powers – eg. Boris Becker or Stefan Edberg – to replace Murray.

In terms of the Rome finale, ideally the World No 1 should lock heads with the World No 2, and Alcaraz leads Sinner 6-4 in their head-to-heads.

But with the Pope’s blessing and Rome baying for blood, Sinner remains deceptively lethal.