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Alex De Minaur gets honest on when will Jannik Sinner’s doping ruling arrive

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Jannik Sinner is waiting for the CAS to give its verdict on the request for disqualification submitted by Wada for the well-known doping case. Alex De Minaur, who lost against the young Italian in the first round robin match at the ATP Finals, was asked at the press conference following the match if he is surprised by how this situation is dragging on and if the final decision should be made before the Australian Open.

“Honestly, I’m just a tennis player and a player. I have no influence on these decisions. I’m sure that everything will happen when it needs to happen. As for Jannik, I can only say what I know about him as a person. Even though he beat me so many times, he’s a good guy! We shared a lot of moments on the court together. I have a lot of respect for him and his team,” said the Australian.

De Minaur then analyzed the match he played against the Italian, explaining: “It’s never easy to play against the best player in the world right now. I knew it was a very difficult match. I also started well but then I simply couldn’t sustain the level I needed to beat Jannik. He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. In the important points he showed it.”

The Australian then explained in more detail the difficulties he found with Sinner: “His ball speed, in my eyes, is much higher than that of the other players. He is solid on both sides. He continues to improve. He has improved his serve a lot over the years. He has great power and great confidence: it is impossible to find weaknesses in his game.”

Jannik Sinner, ATP Finals 2024

Jannik Sinner, ATP Finals 2024© Stream screenshot

 

A few days ago, before the ATP Finals, Sinner had given an exclusive interview to Sky Sport, during which he had spoken precisely about the doping affair. As is known, Jannik was found positive for Clostebol at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. ITIA accepted the tennis player’s explanation of involuntary contamination with the substance that entered Sinner’s body during a series of massages by the Italian tennis player’s physiotherapist at the time. WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, appealed against this decision and asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to sentence Sinner to a one to two-year ban for negligence.

In the interview with Sky, the ATP No.1 said that it was a very complicated period, analyzing: I didn’t know how I had to behave, I didn’t know what would come out, I didn’t know what would happen with the team. I couldn’t open up to so many people. It was easy to lose control. I didn’t sleep, like the night before the match against Medvedev at Wimbledon. One morning, however, I woke up and realized that even the judge’s decision didn’t depend on me but that I hadn’t done anything wrong. At the US Open, the case was already public knowledge and I changed my training program: I trained in the evening, so there would be fewer people. I looked around to observe the looks of others to understand what they were really thinking. I asked myself many questions. Ultimately, I am convinced that nothing happens by chance, and perhaps this happened precisely to understand who is your friend and who isn’t. I understood that there are many players who I didn’t think were my friends and are and there is a fairly large number who I thought were friends and instead aren’t. And in the end I won’t say that this did me any good, but it made me understand many things. I’m happy with how I handled it because it was very difficult. I’m happy when I go to court and put on my cap, on the court I feel safe.”

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