After winning his second round match at the 2024 US Open against American Alex Michelsen (6-4, 6-0, 6-2), Jannik Sinner has a diplomatic response when asked what he would do if Nick Kyrgios, who has been criticizing the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s response to his doping case, got to interviewing him on court.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to respond to what he said. Everyone is free to say everything. It’s ok. If that is the case, let’s see. It’s gonna be different for sure (laughing). I don’t know what to say,” he said during a press conference.
Kyrgios has been talking about Sinner’s case since it was made public, expressing his doubts about the fairness of the process. “I think he had it on his own terms for most of the time. I don’t think that’s fair and equal for the rest of the tours,” the Australian said as a commentator for ESPN during the US Open.
Kyrgios even went on as far as to say that he wouldn’t be “as hospitable” to the current No 1 when on tour. However, Sinner said that he is “quite relaxed” and that he “forgets things quite fast,” adding: “Everyone is free to say everything. It is what it is.”
Sinner was declared innocent of any wrongdoing after doping tests found low levels of clostebol in March. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) concluded he was “accidentally” contaminated with the banned substance due to an error by Sinner’s physiotherapist, Giacomo Nadi. Nadi and fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara no longer worked for the player.
Jannik Sinner’s case opens the conversation around rules
Kyrgios hasn’t been the only player to comment on the matter, with almost every other star also weighing in. Novak Djokovic also asked for more transparency in doping rules, while Carlos Alcaraz was more eager to move on from the question when asked about the ITIA’s ruling.
To the press in Spanish, per Punto de Break, he said that this was a “delicate issue” and there are details that people, including himself, “don’t know.” To Alcaraz, “At the end of it all, he has been considered innocent, they have declared him innocent, so we have Jannik in the tournament and I don’t think there is much more to say on the subject.”