Stony Jannik Sinner defied doping worry to dominate men’s tennis
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World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will be seeking to win the French Open and Wimbledon as he maintains his dominance at the top of the men's game.
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PARIS – Jannik Sinner’s reserved public persona belies a mature and steely 23-year-old, who showed supreme mental strength to put aside his doping scandal and win the last two tennis Grand Slams.
That cloud cleared on Feb 15 when the world No. 1 agreed to a three-month ban and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) withdrew a case it was taking to the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The case was still alive in January, when the Italian blew away second seed Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final to become back-to-back champion in Melbourne.
That followed a crushing victory over Taylor Fritz in the final of the US Open in September 2024.
In the midst of all that, Sinner had been dogged by controversy after twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March 2024. He denied intentionally doping and insisted that his physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut before providing a massage and sports therapy.
“There’s been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months now,” said his coach Darren Cahill after the Melbourne triumph, Sinner’s third Major title.
“He deals with it as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen deal with pressure. He’s an amazing young man that’s been able to put that to one side.
“He has a clear conscience with what’s going on. That’s the main reason he’s been able to go onto the court and walk tall and have that belief and play with the confidence that he has.”
Sinner had been able to play on, first because he appealed against the finding and then after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) exonerated him in August 2024.
Wada in turn appealed against that ITIA ruling to CAS. The hearing was scheduled on April 16-17. The global doping body was demanding a two-year ban.
On Feb 15, Sinner announced he had agreed to a three-month ban and Wada withdrew its appeal.
Born in the northern predominantly German-speaking Italian village of Innichen, a stone’s throw from the Austrian border, Sinner did not initially appear set for a career in professional tennis.
He was a champion skier as a youngster and still enjoys the sport in the off-season. The Italian was also a keen footballer, playing for a local team as an attacker.
He committed to tennis and at age 13 moved 600km away from his family to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera to start his long march to the top.
After a steady grind, Sinner made an emphatic statement that he was among the elite by winning his maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne last season.
It set the tone for an extraordinary 2024 in which he won eight titles, including the US Open and ATP Finals, with a striking aspect being his extraordinary air of calm on court.
He began to look increasingly like the heir to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, for so long the dominant trio in men’s tennis.
Zverev called Sinner’s display “prime Novak” after the Australian final.
Sinner’s other coach, Simone Vagnozzi, acknowledged the Grand Slams are the key measure.
“He has already won three,” he said. “I think he’s one of the guys that can reach the top level. I mean, when we speak about top level, we think about Novak, about Roger or Rafa.”
While Sinner is the undoubted king of hard courts, he has yet to go beyond the semi-finals on the clay of Roland Garros or on the grass of Wimbledon. The timing of his ban means he will be able to play in both in 2025.
“It’s for sure one thing I always think about,” Sinner said in Melbourne. “You have to be a complete player, not only one surface, but on also the other two.”
Quiet and reserved, he keeps his personal life away from the spotlight, saying very little about his relationship with fellow tennis player Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.
Seen by some as too serious and even icy, the Italian has worked to soften his image. In Melbourne he even laughed during some of his interviews, a side of him rarely seen before.
“He’s matured for sure,” added Cahill. “I think there’s many areas of not just what he’s doing on the court but certainly off the court as well.
“You have to have a wise head on your shoulders dealing with the media and the fans and the pressure of playing in front of 15,000 people and living up to expectations.
“You grow up fast. Jannik is one of those.” AFP
