Jannik Sinner is the star of the present on the upcoming Rome Open because the world No. 1 and Italian tennis hero gears up for his return to the courts after a contested doping ban.
Away from the sport since agreeing on a suspension with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in February, Sinner was welcomed again to motion on Monday by hundreds of followers who watched his first coaching session on the event on heart court docket on the Foro Italico.
Such is the curiosity in Sinner, who has change into a nationwide hero in Italy since rising to the highest of the boys’s sport, that Sky Sport broadcast the apply match with world No. 38 Jiri Lehecka dwell on tv.
All eyes will likely be on the 23-year-old as he hasn’t swung a racket since retaining his Australian Open title in January, a victory which took his Grand Slam tally to a few.
“I’m very happy, happy to be back here. It has been a very long, long three months,” Sinner advised reporters in a packed convention room inside the middle court docket.
Fans in Rome have waited two years to see Sinner play their clay court docket event after he missed final yr’s version, which was gained by Alexander Zverev, with harm.
It is on a floor that’s not his favourite, and his rustiness was clear to see on Monday.
Only one in every of Sinner’s 19 titles has come on clay, in Umag again in 2022, the identical yr as his greatest lead to Rome, a quarter-final exit by the hands of crushed finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
However, he does have a while earlier than he lastly takes to the court docket, his standing because the top-ranked participant on the boys’s tour permitting him a bye into the second spherical, which begins on Friday.
Sinner has been lucky that none of his rivals took benefit of his enforced pause, with second-ranked Zverev nonetheless nearly 2,000 factors behind the person who beat him within the Australian Open last.
Objective Roland Garros
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz is but to reach in Rome after withdrawing from the Madrid Open, whereas Novak Djokovic should wait a bit longer for his a centesimal ATP title after deciding to take a seat out a event he has gained six occasions.
Sinner is eyeing a run on the French Open, the second Slam of the season, which follows the Rome event.
“My objective is Roland Garros, I’m here to see what level I’m at,” mentioned Sinner.
“I’m not here to beat whoever, but to get past the second round and then see what happens.”
Sinner’s rise to the highest of the sport in 2024, when he gained eight titles together with his first two Slams and the ATP Finals, was dogged by the controversy which adopted his two optimistic exams for traces of clostebol in March final yr.
He mentioned final month he hit “rock bottom” at the newest Australian Open, saying he felt like different gamers “looked at me differently.”
Sinner was aggrieved as he feels he did nothing flawed, and WADA mentioned explicitly he “did not intend to cheat,” accepting he was contaminated by his physiotherapist utilizing a sprig containing the banned substance to deal with a reduce earlier than offering a therapeutic massage.
Regardless, he additionally needed to settle for the three-month ban provided by WADA, moderately than danger being pressured out of tennis for 2 years simply as he grew to become the dominant pressure in males’s tennis.
“I didn’t want to do it in the beginning. It was not easy for me to accept it because I know what really happened,” mentioned Sinner.
“But sometimes you have to choose the best in a terrible moment. And that’s what we did. It’s all over now, so I’m happy to play again.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com