Jannik Sinner admits he’s ‘lost his smile a bit’ over the doping scandal which rocked tennis and means he could still be potentially facing a two-year ban.
Sinner has always denied any wrongdoing over his two failed drug tests from March – but the saga isn’t over after the World Anti-Doping Agency’s appeal.
Their appeal is now before the Court of Arbitration for Sport – who officially registered it on October 4 – and they are in the process of setting up a hearing.
Ahead of that hearing, and after his showdown with Novak Djokovic in the final of the Shanghai Masters, which Sinner won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, the Italian world No.1 said: ‘This year has been very, very tough for me.
‘You know, at points I lost a little bit of [my] smile because I had some issues off the court, and then they’re still in my mind sometimes.
‘So, it’s never easy to play in these kind of circumstances where I am in, but, you know, I just tried to enjoy in the best possible way I can on the court.
‘And, you know, obviously success is something great, and then it’s nice to say thanks to all the people who are working with me daily, who knows me more than most likely all the other people.
‘So, I just try to stay very calm, and not making any problems if you miss shots or you get unlucky sometimes, just trying to keep pushing with the best energy I have in that day.
‘Every day’s a bit different, so I’m happy how I’m handling the situations on the court. I try to control what I can control, and that’s, for sure, the mind, and also the physical aspect you can control.
‘But the rest, you know, you just have to believe, and trying to stay composed, and especially in important moments in a match.
‘You know, people, they think that by winning or having success that you don’t have any problems. But it’s not true, you know, because I’m in the situation where I’m in, obviously, it’s not comfortable.
‘I wish I would not be in this position where I am right now off the court, and playing freely more on the court, and trying even to enjoy it a little bit more.
‘But, you know, you have to accept it. I feel like that I’m strong when I go on the court, trying to not think about it, and trying to stay focused about everything I do, and I give a hundred percent in every single match or practice, or when I wake up I try to be focused on every single thing I do.
‘But then, of course, I have moments where I think about it, which is not comfortable, and not the best part.
‘So, yeah, you take the success in a different way, and I think that’s what I learned is that the success will never change me as a person, or as a player also because, you know, next tournament I can go far again, or I could lose the first round, but it’s not going to change me as a person, as a human.
‘So, I’m very glad to all the people that I have around, and they know me very, very good, and know how I am, and I know who the people that I can trust to, and that for me is the most important. Whatever I can achieve on the court, it’s just an extra, it’s that what I work for.’
