Roger Federer admits to ‘frustration’ surrounding Jannik Sinner doping case
Roger Federer has commented on the ‘inconsistencies’ in the Jannik Sinner doping situation, with the now-retired former No.1 putting his trust in the Italian.
Federer has been retired since the end of 2022, but is currently in New York and is expected to be in the Arthur Ashe Crowd this evening for the match between Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion had an interview on the USA TODAY show this morning, and was asked about the recent news of World No.1 Jannik Sinner’s failed anti-doping tests.
It was revealed ahead of the US Open, that back in March Sinner was found to have the banned substance clostebol in his system, but had his suspension overturned almost immediately after appealing on the grounds of contamination.
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) August 20, 2024
In Sinner’s appeal he claimed that his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi had massaged his feet following applying a cream that contained clostebol.
The Italian has since parted ways with both Naldi and fitness trainer Umberto Ferrera, and now Federer has had his say on the situation that has unfolded in recent weeks.
“It’s not something we want to see in our sport, these types of news, regardless if he did something or not, or any player did. It’s just noise that we don’t want,” explained Federer. “I understand it’s a tricky situation.
“It’s the nightmare of every athlete and team to have these allegations and these problems because we fill out these forms all day every day. And it lives with you. Every morning when you wake up, you think, ‘Is somebody at the door coming to test me?’ So it’s really difficult.”
There have been some suggestions from fans and other players that Australian Open champion Sinner has perhaps had a quicker and more private process while the case was ongoing, which is something that Federer appeared take into consideration.
“I understand the frustration of, ‘Has he been treated the same as others?’ And I think this is where it comes down to,” Federer continued.
“I think we all trust pretty much that Jannik didn’t do anything, but the inconsistency potentially that he didn’t have to sit out while they weren’t 100 percent sure what was going on, I think that’s the question here that needs to be answered. But look, it is what it is, and we need to trust the process as well of anyone involved here.”
Despite the recent controversy surrounding Sinner, the 23-year-old is currently on an eight match winning streak after reaching the US Open quarter-finals.
Inside the baseline…
It is an interesting coincidence that both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have commented on this case in interviews over the past 24 hours. Both appear to trust Jannik Sinner and that the outcome, but seem to differ in their views based on the consistency of other cases. At the end of the day the outcome has been made, but it will be interesting to see the widespread reaction if Sinner does go onto win the US Open title.
READ NEXT – Rafael Nadal: I know Sinner and I don’t think he wanted to dope
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