Ivan Ljubicic, the former coach of Roger Federer, stated that Jannik Sinner will be feeling “much better mentally” now that he has been absolved of all charges in relation to his failed drug tests. The entire ordeal “proves how strong he is mentally.”
At the Indian Wells Open in March, the world number one tested positive twice for the illegal steroid clostebol, but he was permitted to play again after filing successful appeals.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) declared nearly five months after the initial results that Sinner was not at fault or negligent because the substance had entered their system through contamination from a support team member who had been treating a small wound on their own skin with an over-the-counter spray that contained clostebol, which was available in Italy.
The news created a stir in the tennis community since many felt that Sinner was given special treatment because other players had previously been suspended until they could establish their innocence.
The 23-year-old has done incredibly well despite the sword hanging over his head for the past three months. He won the Miami Open in March, broke through to become the world’s number one player in June, and most recently, he won the Cincinnati Open.
After the current announcement, former world No. 3 Ljubicic—who coached Federer from 2015 until his retirement in 2022—discussed Sinner’s mindset.
“This helps us understand his mental toughness,” he said to Sky Sports Tennis. “I have no idea what it’s like to carry around this knowledge inside of you for several months.
“He has consistently played exceptionally well, maintained his competitiveness, and won significant events like Cincinnati a week ago.
He will undoubtedly feel lighter now, as if a large boulder has been removed from his shoes, and he will be able to concentrate on his tennis game and attempt to do well in the US Open, which he hasn’t won yet.
Here, we recall a few of his outstanding performances, including his victory over Carlos Alcaraz. He seems to be in much better mental health presently, and from what we saw in Cincinnati, he is in quite good physical health.
Since then, Sinner has split up with fitness instructor Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, but he has stated that his current goal is to concentrate on his tennis.
Acknowledging that the Italian and his colleagues erred, Ljubicic exposed how “complicated” anti-doping protocols actually are.
However, the Croatian thinks tennis will take note of this incident.
“I believe that everyone in the tennis world is aware of what transpired by now. He stated, “Very few people believe that Jannik actually attempted to do something illegal. The only issue, based on what I’ve read and heard, is that a lot of our colleagues seem a little taken aback by the procedure Jannik used, which no one had ever used before.
Regarding the physical therapist, nobody holds him accountable for any wrongdoing. Due to WADA’s increasing vigilance in the fight against doping, a great deal of people will attempt to exercise even greater caution regarding all the items they consume and take in the wake of Jannik’s team’s error.
It’s getting harder and harder, if you will. Tennis players are constantly on the run; you never know what you’ll discover in your suitcase when you need an aspirin or anything else while on the other side of the globe. The professional tennis player’s life isc omplicated by these circumstances.
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