British tennis star Jack Draper has vowed to ‘tell the truth’ about Jannik Sinner as the Italian prepares to return from a three-month doping ban.
Sinner failed two drug tests last year and remains suspended until May 5, with the world No.1 set to make his comeback at the Italian Open in Rome.
The 23-year-old, who won the Australian Open in January, twice tested positive for clostebol, a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that he was accidentally contaminated by a massage from his physiotherapist, who used a spray containing the banned substance to treat a finger cut.
WADA ruled that Sinner ‘did not intend to cheat’ but insisted that he was responsible for his team’s negligence, which ultimately saw him punished.
British No.1 Draper, who has impressively climbed to world No.6 in the ATP rankings, has now shared his thoughts on the situation at the Madrid Open.
‘When people ask about Jannik I tell the truth,’ Draper told the BBC and the Guardian in a joint interview.
‘I think he is a really genuine, nice person and on top of that he is an unbelievable player.
‘In this situation I am sure he would have had absolutely zero idea of anything. That’s the way life goes – sometimes there are mistakes.’
Draper practiced with Sinner in Monte Carlo last week and the duo, who are the same age (23), are long-term friends.
Speaking earlier this year, Novak Djokovic gave a brutally honest response when asked how tennis players really felt about Sinner’s controversial ban.
‘It’s not a good image for our sport, that’s for sure,’ Djokovic said. ‘The majority of the players feel like there is favouritism happening.
‘It seems like it appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers and whatnot.’
Sinner wasn’t the only tennis star accused of receiving special treatment due to his profile, following news in January that WADA would not appeal against the one-month ban handed to Polish world No.2 Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek, one of the biggest names on the WTA Tour, tested positive for trimetazidine but the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled the adverse finding was due to a contaminated non-prescription medication.
Djokovic believes that Sinner and Swiatek were treated differently to Romania’s Simona Halep and British player Tara Moore, who were hit with significantly lengthier bans in cases which dragged on much longer.
‘Swiatek and Sinner are innocent and it’s proven, unless it’s proven otherwise,’ Djokovic added. ‘So, right now we know they’re innocent.
‘We’ve seen on social media, Simona Halep and Tara Moore and some other players that are maybe less known, that have been struggling to resolve their cases for years or have gotten the ban for years.’