Sinner proud of mentality after winning second Australian Open
The Italian found his best tennis despite the news that WADA’s appeal against his exoneration (due to contamination) following two failed drugs tests will be held in April
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Jannik Sinner described his tennis in the Australian final against Alexander Zverev as “amazing” on Sunday night, the Italian’s 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 win giving him a second straight Melbourne crown and a third Grand Slam title in all.
But that was not what he was most proud of. Instead, it was his mentality, his ability to deal with difficult situations on court and off court and yet retain his focus and come out on top.
It’s not a new situation for Sinner; his US Open win last September came just after the announcement that he had escaped punishment by the International Tennis Integrity Unit after they accepted he had tested positive twice for the banned drug, clostobol, through contamination.
And his victory at the Australian Open here on Sunday came shortly after it was announced that the appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency will be held in April.
“I’m very proud,” he said. “It’s actually tough to describe. Many, many things happen off the court, what you maybe don’t know. When I go on the court, even if sometimes it’s very difficult to block these kind of things, I have the team and people who are close to me who trust me. That for me is even more important because I can talk with them, very openly with them. That’s it.
“When I go on court, I try to focus on the match. I know the match can be three, four, five hours, but that’s the gap of the day where I have to be very focused. Obviously also in the gym, trying to stay into your routine, then you think a bit less about what’s happening. Of course, it’s still a little bit in the back of your mind. I know that I’m in this position now. So nothing I can change.”
“I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind”
Athletes are responsible for what goes into their bodies and usually when they test positive for something, even by contamination, they are punished. But Sinner was exonerated after the ITIA accepted his explanation that the drug had entered his system via his physio, who had used a medication containing clostobol to treat a cut on his own hand.
Wada is seeking a ban of at least a year but Sinner says his conscience is clear.
“I mean, what happened, happened, no,” he said. “As I always say, I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened. If I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this, and that’s it.
“I mean, I still believe every time it came out in a very positive way, and I still believe it’s going to be that case. That’s it, no? At the moment I’m not thinking about this.
“Of course, you have your moments of certain days where you feel like I wish I would not have this problem. In the other way, I’m always looking forward to go on court, trying to understand. Now I also need my time off, which is also very important for my body and my mind. Then when I go again back on court, I try to improve.”
Winning second Aus open different to first
Winning the other two Grand Slam titles is one of his main aims, he said, but he said he wants to enjoy this victory, not least because it feels a little different than the first one. He looked in real trouble, physically, in his fourth-round win over Holger Rune, but recovered brilliantly to hit top form in the last three rounds.
“Of course, you have maybe this little extra pressure and attention on your side, which you have to handle,” he said, of being defending champion. “But in the other way, you know that you can do it because you’ve done it once. You try to understand whatever it is.
“What I understood this time is every day is different. You have days where you might feel a bit not 100 percent, and then the next match all of a sudden, Okay, I’m into the tournament.
I think I’ve learned many things throughout one year, not watching about result, but how I am as a person and how I handle the situation on the court. It is different, though. I’m very happy to have it.”
