Adrian Mannarino, interviewed by RMC Sports, expressed his opinion on the controversial doping-issues involving Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner.
The French tennis player underlined how the whole story seems surprising to him. For the current 66th player in the ATP ranking, in fact, these two positive anti-doping tests were truly a surprise.
The Polish player’s (positive for TMZ) and the Italian’s (tested positive for Clostebol) are very different cases, which have caused a stir and many discussions.
The most critical and malicious have underlined both the difference in treatment reserved for these two champions – compared to other lower-ranked tennis players who have had the same problem – and the insinuation that both the Pole and the Italian are far from being strangers to the affair.
Iga has already been disqualified for a month, Jannik is awaiting the hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the appeal by WADA after the acquittal decided by the ITIA, but there is a wide debate in any case.
Sinner and Swiatek© Instagram Jannik Sinner – Instagram Iga Swiatek
And it was precisely on these points that Mannarino came in for criticism, explaining: “I don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore. If there are those who want to believe, they can believe but it’s not really my type. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it’s still very surprising because this season there have been two positive tests out of the 300 best in the world and they are the two number 1s in the world.
So I can also understand that someone could inadvertently take the wrong pill or the bad vitamin, but it’s still all very surprising. I wake up every morning at 36 limping. Having to go on the court against 20-25 year olds, if they’re not clean, becomes complicated. I hope for their sake that it’s like this,” explained the Franchman in his attack against the Pole and the Italian.
Tennis World USA