Jannik Sinner's resilience during the recent doping saga showed former ATP player and former Roger Federer's coach, Ivan Ljubicic, just how mentally tough the Italian is.
As a former player based in and around Italy for a long time, Ljubicic is quite familiar with the scene. He's known about Sinner for a very long time because they spent time at the Riccardo Piatti Academy.
The former number three was always aware of Sinner's talents, but even so, he's been amazed by some of his abilities. This most recent hurdle he overcame showed Ljubicic just how mentally tough Sinner is.
Dealing with a looming potential suspension while still playing tennis is challenging. It's a huge distraction, and Sinner could still play at a fairly decent level, becoming world number one in the meantime.
Although there was a noticeable dip in his level, it was still a level far above many others. The proof is that nobody suspected anything, as many people were still busy gushing over Sinner and his 2024 campaign.
Some even picked him to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon, which shows the drop in level wasn't that drastic. In an interview with Sky Sports, Ljubicic openly admitted that he was unsure how he would do in that situation because he couldn't imagine having that looming over him while trying to focus on tennis.
It just seems like something that would heavily impact a person, which it did. Sinner admitted it did impact him.
"This makes us realise how strong he is mentally. I can’t know what it’s like to live with this information inside you for months. He has still managed to be competitive, he has always played very well, won important tournaments like Cincinnati a week ago."
The news is out now, and for Sinner, it was a huge relief. Not only because he was cleared of any wrongdoing, but also because he doesn't really have to think about it anymore.
Naturally, he will be still reminded by some questions or comments, but he can finally stop thinking about it and focus on the future. Ljubicic expects Sinner to feel much lighter in the coming weeks, which should allow him to play some of that tennis he also compared to earlier this year.
"Now he will certainly feel lighter, he will feel like he has taken a big rock out of his shoes and will finally be able to focus on tennis and try to play well at the US Open that he hasn’t won yet."
Sinner is on the shortlist of players expected to challenge for the trophy in New York, and Ljubicic certainly expects him to do well. He should feel better mentally and physically; the Cincinnati run also proved that he's fine. That's already good enough for him to challenge for the trophy.
"We remember here some of his spectacular matches, against Carlos Alcaraz and everything. I think he’s feeling much better mentally now; physically, we saw him in Cincinnati, he’s pretty good."
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