As Jannik Sinner serves the final stages of his three-month doping ban, effectively a plea bargain with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that saw him miss no Grand Slams, his friend and fellow top 10 player, Jack Draper, has come to his defence.
Draper, whose breakthrough win at the Indian Wells Masters has seen him become one of the big names in men’s tennis, trained with Sinner on the clay before arriving for this week’s Madrid Masters. The Briton believes it is important to stand up for the World No. 1, whom he believes is not at fault.
“When people ask about him, or anyone, I’ll tell the truth. I think Jannik is a really, really genuine, nice person. And on top of that, he’s obviously an unbelievable player,” Draper was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “In this situation, I’m sure that he would have absolutely zero idea of anything. That’s just the way life goes – sometimes there’s mistakes.”
“In terms of actually how I feel about him as a person, I think it’s important for people to know and recognise that the guy’s very, very kind-hearted and a good human being. So he doesn’t deserve any of the hate that he gets,” Draper added.
Sinner tested positive for banned anabolic steroid clostebol in March last year, following which he was cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and an independent tribunal after ‘no fault or negligence’ was found on his part. The tribunal accepted his appeal of accidental transdermal contamination after his trainer had applied a spray containing clostebol on a cut on his finger and then given him a massage.
The case was subsequently appealed by WADA and was scheduled to be heard at the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS) before WADA and Sinner’s legal team came to a settlement that saw him accept a three-month ban in the time between the Australian Open (where he won his third Major) and the French Open. Sinner will return in time to play on home soil at the Italian Open in Rome next month.
After training with the World No. 1, Draper said that while he may be lacking in a little match sharpness, Sinner remains at “an incredible level.”
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“If you can train with anyone, it’s got to be probably the best in the world, right? He’s obviously had a bit of time off, but he’s playing at an incredible level still. I’m looking forward to having him back on the tour, because I think his presence has been missed. It was great to be with him for a few days and get some good sparring,” the Briton said.
