Jannik Sinner talked a lot about his doping case ahead of the 2024 US Open to discuss his doping saga, which has dominated news headlines in the past week.
Despite the past week being the week before the US Open, the World No. 1 player on the ATP Tour has been in the spotlight, but not because of his chances at Flushing Meadows. The Italian tested positive for a banned substance back in March.
He was never suspended because his appeal was accepted during a provisional period, and ultimately, he was cleared of any wrongdoing after a thorough investigation.
That didn't stop certain narratives from popping up. The whole saga happened in the background because nobody outside of those involved knew about it.
The rest found out recently after several statements came out, including Sinner, the ITIA, the ATP, and others. He competed through all that time, and it impacted him. He talked openly about that in the sitdown with ESPN ahead of the 2024 US Open.
"It has impact quite a lot because I was ill, I was not feeling so much energy on the court. I think you saw this in Wimbledon for example. There was sleepless nights sometimes, because thinking of this, there were some physical issues, maybe because of that, the first issue came because of the hip in Monaco exactly when it came out."
Sinner didn't look that good during Wimbledon, but he also battled tonsillitis and intrusive thoughts about what would happen. Being allowed to compete didn't mean that a suspension would not happen. That looming over his head was scary.
There was a lot that was unknown, and it weighed on him. He wasn't feeling the joy or happiness of being on the court anymore, and the results also suffered.
"So there has been some very tough moments throughout this whole process. I felt different on the court, I was not happy, I was not myself on the court, but now hopefully I can turn pages."
"I'm not saying that I'm doing it right now because it takes still a little bit of time, but I just want to be back happy on court and enjoying and sharing great moments with the crowd."
Being cleared of any wrongdoing lifted a lot of pressure off his shoulders, but observing how the rest of the year unfolds will be interesting. This incident might linger around for a while because it takes time to process everything.
Having big events to play is certainly a great distraction from all of that, but it can also be a big distraction from tennis. It's a huge test for him, especially since this broke ahead of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of this year.
Sinner is considered one of the favorites to win it, and doing so would be a statement win and a huge confidence boost for him. That's what ultimately matters the most right now—returning to where he was.
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