Jannik Sinner's lawyer, Jamie Singer, believes the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)'s appeal of the Italian's doping case was unnecessary.
Sinner had hoped the ordeal could be put behind him after he was cleared of wrongdoing and avoided a ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after a five-month investigation that was kept private until last month.
The Italian played like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders at the US Open, beating Taylor Fritz in the final to win his first title at Flushing Meadows. He only dropped two sets throughout the tournament.
However, Sinner's anxiety will have increased again after WADA announced it was appealing the ITIA's verdict, with a two-year ban possible if the Court of Arbitration for Sport hands out the harshest possible sanction.
WADA indicated that it did not dispute Sinner's explanation for how the banned substance clostebol entered his system but felt the 23-year-old bore more fault than the ITIA's investigation showed.
Sinner said he was surprised and disappointed by the decision to appeal, and his lawyer, who spoke to Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport, also outlined his team's surprise that WADA did not accept the judgment of the experts who looked into the case.
"Surprised, we hoped that after the opinion of the three specialists of the Sport Resolution Panel the issue would have been resolved correctly. Jannik said he was surprised and sorry for this appeal that he did not expect. We were surprised too, to be honest."
"We hoped that the experience of the three specialists of the Sport Resolution Panel, and their well-substantiated and documented judgments, would convince the parties that the matter had been resolved correctly."
Singer clarified that WADA was not accusing Sinner of deliberately using clostebol to gain any advantage but that the body considered him more responsible for the actions of his physiotherapist and fitness trainer, who bought and used the product containing clostebol, than the ITIA did.
"This request is completely reasonable. In fact, no one accuses Jannik of having taken advantage of Clostebol in his performances. For this reason, it would be unfair to penalize him in the rankings or in his earnings."
"However, WADA believes that he is somehow responsible for the actions of his team and for this reason they ask for him to be punished. The suspension is the punishment they ask for what they consider negligence."
Sinner's lawyer accepted that the WADA has the right to appeal the case. However, he felt the move was unnecessary and that the ITIA's initial judgment was enough to prove Sinner's innocence.
“We are all aware that WADA has the full right to take this action, appealing was within its possibilities and we know how complicated the work of monitoring doping and the integrity of the world of sport is. Having said that, we believe that the appeal was really unnecessary."
WADA's decision to appeal means the case could take months to resolve. Sinner could have difficulty staying focused on the court during that period, although he has played well since the news of WADA's appeal broke, reaching the China Open semifinals.
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