Jannik Sinner eased into the second round at Wimbledon with a win over Luca Nardi – and the world No.1 gave an honest response to questions about his doping ban afterwards
Jannik Sinner says his reputation hasn’t taken a hit since he served a doping ban because the public have short memories. The world No.1 eased into the second round at Wimbledon on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory over his Italian compatriot Luca Nardi on Court One.
The 23-year-old is the top seed at the All England Lawn Tennis Club and will be hoping to put his heartbreaking defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final behind him.
Sinner is also keen to put his doping past behind him, having previously served a suspension after twice testing positive for the banned substance clostebol.
The three-time Grand Slam winner was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent tribunal after an investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
He tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol, which is a banned steroid that can be used to build muscle mass, but Sinner claimed it was the result of contamination from his physio, who had been using an over-the-counter spray to treat a cut on his own hand.
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The case sparked a debate around doping, with some angry that Sinner got off lightly, given his suspension fell between tournaments. And Sinner clearly isn’t experiencing any backlash a year on while playing at Wimbledon for the first time since the ban.
Asked if he had concerns about the reception he would get, Sinner replied: “To be honest, no.”
Summing up his relationship with fellow players and tennis fans, he added: “No, it was good. I mean, I think people kind of have forgotten already a little bit what happened. Of course, there are still things, but so many things, new notifications, whatever, coming.
“So that’s the good and the bad of social [media] that something happens and people don’t know anymore what happened yesterday. In the other way, I have good relationship with more or less all players like I had before.
“Of course, in the beginning it was a bit different. People saw me in different ways. But I think they all saw that I’m a very clean player. I never [had the] intention to do anything bad. I always try to be the best I can, having a good team around me. That’s exactly what I try to do in the future.
“The things I can control, I will control, as I always say, also on the court and off the court. It was an incident, yes. It happened. But yeah, the result also says that I haven’t done anything on purpose. It’s all good.”
Having seen off world No.95 Nardi in one hour and 48 minutes, Sinner will play Australian Aleksandar Vukic in the second round later this week. While his Major wins have come in Australia and the United States, he has reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in the last three years and is a serious contender for the title.
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