'Clear mind' over doping case helped Sinner win Melbourne title
Jannik Sinner says the possibility of a doping ban ruling him out of upcoming Grand Slam tournaments did not provide extra motivation to win the Australian Open.The 23-year-old Italian says he could not have won back-to-back Melbourne titles if he did not have a "clear mind" that he had done nothing wrong.Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent panel after testing positive for banned substance clostebol in April.The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) appealed against the decision and is seeking a ban of between one and two years.The world number one will have his case heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) from 16-17 April, just over a month before the French Open begins.Sinner beat German second seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets on Sunday but said the uncertainty around his future did "not really" drive him to win again at Melbourne Park."I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened," Sinner said."If I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this, and that's it."I just came off an amazing run again here. I want to enjoy this moment."
Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol - a steroid that can be used to build muscle mass - during the Indian Wells tournament in March 2024.He did not dispute traces of clostebol were found in his urine test and successfully argued that he had been inadvertently contaminated with the substance by his physiotherapist.The ITIA accepted there was "no fault or negligence" attached to Sinner and he had provided a "credible" explanation.Wada is not questioning the player's explanation of why the substance ended up in his system, but believes the independent panel's finding that Sinner held no fault or negligence is "not correct under the applicable rules"."I still believe every time [the ruling] came out in a very positive way, and I still believe it's going to be that case," Sinner added."At the moment I'm not thinking about this. "Of course, you have your moments of certain days where you feel like I wish I would not have this problem. "In the other way, I'm always looking forward to go on court."
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