A mid-Slam trade? Cahill with Team Anisimova Tuesday

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WIMBLEDON – We’re waiting for confirmation, explanation or other details from the parties involved.

But here’s what was happening earlier this afternoon at Wimbledon.

An hour before new charge Jannik Sinner was due to meet Novak Djokovic on Centre Court in their men’s singles quarterfinal, Aussie coach Darren Cahill was … elsewhere.

Where? On one of the back field courts directing the off-day practice of … Amanda Anisimova.

Here’s what it looked like.

It was almost the equivalent of a mid-game trade between two baseball teams – where the traded player suddenly just crosses the field and moves into the other clubhouse.

Except, of course, Sinner and Anisimova play in different draws.

And Cahill has low-key been working with both all along.

And they’re both in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time.

Sinner and Anisimova are both 20 (actually, born just two weeks apart in August, 2001). And both supremely talented.

Team Anisimova on Court 10, right in the middle of the club. It’s just it was all very low-key; in effect, they were hiding in plain sight as they have much of the fortnight, even if you couldn’t find a trace of it on Twitter.

Cahill appears to have been in both corners throughout, as he has been in a four-week trial with Sinner (they’re not through four weeks yet), with further collaboration unclear.

Cahill doing some serious coaching

It wasn’t as though Cahill was just a casual observer on Anisimova’s court.

He was directing the practice while Andis Juska, who has been Anisimova’s coach here and the one in her player box, was hitting serves from halfway into the court at Cahill’s direction.

It was almost as though player and coach were picking up where they left off after Cahill began working with Anisimova in Australia in January.

After that, Cahill – the longtime coach of Simona Halep – did make the trip to the desert for the Indian Wells event. But after an early practice, he headed back to Australia.

Later, Cahill cited burnout (the pandemic has been particularly rough on the Aussies, who either couldn’t leave or couldn’t get home).

Four months later, in a much better state of mind, Cahill hit the road again.

Refreshed, a fresh start with Sinner

Meanwhile, Sinner and his longtime coach and mentor Riccardo Piatti suddenly ended things last February.

In the interim, the low-key Simone Vagnozzi took over coaching duties, with the implicit understanding that they would be looking for a full-time solution.

Sinner’s Roland Garros ended earlier than he anticipated because of a lingering knee injury.

So he didn’t even hit the grass until the Eastbourne tournament, the week before Wimbledon.

And there was Cahill.

Eastbourne wasn’t great; Sinner was beaten in three sets by the smooth Tommy Paul in his opening match.

But the two then moved the operation to the All-England Club.

Here they are the weekend before the event, as Sinner was practicing with Filip Krajinovic.

Cahill wouldn’t say much at the time about the new association – despite a number of interview requests from many media outlets – only that they were just getting to know each other.