Roger Federer is the latest tennis legend to give his opinion on Jannik Sinner’s controversial doping case. The 20-Grand Slam champion joined Rafael Nadal in his defense of the Italian, but conceded that he understood the “frustration” from other players.
Speaking to Savannah Guthrie on Today News on Sept. 3, Federer was candid in his position on the matter. “I understand the frustration of, ‘Has he been treated the same as others?'” Federer said. “And I think this is where it comes down to.”
“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,” the Swiss legend added. “But look, it is what it is, and we need to trust the process as well of anyone involved here.”
Either way, Federer, who won the US Open five times, was also quick to say that these “types of news,” referring to doping, “it’s not something we want to see in our sport” and “It’s just noise that we don’t want.”
Jannik Sinner is still on the race for the US Open
Sinner is the No. 1 seed and has reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, where he will play fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev on Sept. 4. Sinner beat Medvedev in January to win the Australian Open for his first Grand Slam title.
Meanwhile, Medvedev reached his 11-Grand Slam quarter final, and his fifth in New York. The Russian is also the player with most tour-level matches (268) on hard courts than anyone else on the ATP Tour.
Medvedev lost last year’s final to Novak Djokovic, who had an early exit this year, failing to reach the fourth round. The Russian is set to reach his fifth semifinal at the US Open, and his third final.