Reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner remains unaware of when an appeal into a potentially career-altering drug charge will be heard but is adamant in his innocence.
As last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev said he would like to see what happened if Sinner and his outspoken critic Nick Kyrgios crossed paths in the corridors, the world No.1 said his belief that he had done nothing wrong enabled him to succeed.
The tennis world was rocked last year when it was revealed Sinner, who added the US Open to his resume last September, had tested positive twice to the prohibited substance Clostebol in March while playing at Indian Wells.
His case followed a suspension handed to dual-major champion Simona Halep, while another recent No.1 Iga Swiatek was also suspended briefly after recording a positive test.
Australian Max Purcell is also provisionally suspended for a prohibited method breach after attending a medical facility in Bali, where he was treated with an intravenous drip.
Nick Kyrgios has been particularly outspoken about the Sinner case and doping in general but the Italian champion is adamant the ongoing saga will not have an impact on his form.
“How do I block it? It’s not that you just put it in a part and you just say I don’t think any more about this. In my mind I know exactly what happened, and that’s how I block it, no?” Sinner said.
“I haven’t done anything wrong. That’s why I’m still here. That’s why I’m still playing. I don’t want to respond to what Nick said or what other players say. I think the most important part is to have my people around me … they exactly know what happened. That’s it.”
Sinner, who faces Nicolas Jarry in the opening round, blamed his positive test on the fact a former trainer used a paste containing the drug to treat a cut on his finger before a massage.
The 23-year-old said he had not changed his approach when it comes to eating or taking medicine since the saga began nine months ago.
“As I approach these things, they haven’t changed,” he said.
“Before I was very, very careful on every single medicine I take, even what I eat. When the bottle is open, I throw it away (and) I take a new one. I was always very, very careful about this stuff.”
On the evening prior to Sinner’s press conference at Melbourne Park, ATP Tour chief executive Andrea Gaudenzi insisted there was no conspiracy surrounding the initial clearance of the defending treatment and that the process was “run by the book”.
“It’s a very popular thing to say – he’s number one in the world. Obviously he’s Italian and I’m Italian,” Gaudenzi told Australian Associated Press.
“People sometimes confuse the outcome of a specific case versus the process. I think that is where the problem is. The process is identical (and) he hasn’t been treated differently. But every case is different. Every circumstance is different.
“Sometimes a player might appeal a suspension and might not get the appeal. Sometimes they do and it depends on the evidence and it depends on the expert opinion and it depends on the substance. It depends on a very large number of variables.”
