US Open: Jannik Sinner plays through doping cloud to beat Taylor Fritz for second major
The event’s first Italian winner, who was cleared pre tournament of illegal-substance use, ensures US drought at their grand slam continues
Less than three weeks after word emerged of his two positive tests for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid, world No 1 Jannik Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with his typical relentless baseline game to win the US Open title at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday.
“It was, and it’s still, a little bit in my mind,” Sinner said of the doping controversy. “It’s not that it’s gone, but when I’m on court, I try to focus [on] the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way. … It was not easy, that’s for sure, but … I tried to stay focused, which I guess I’ve done a great job, mentally staying there every point I play.”
The world found out on August 20 that the Italian tested positive twice in an eight-day span during March for a substance sold in an over-the-counter product in Italy, but he was cleared because his use was ruled unintentional – his defence was that the steroid entered his system via a massage from a team member he later fired.
While some players wondered whether Sinner was accorded special treatment, most believed he wasn’t trying to dope. And the US Open’s fans never gave him a hard time.
“You can understand why people are upset about it. In anti-doping, it sounds so ridiculous,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency, which wasn’t involved in the case. “But the science is such that, if the facts are actually proven out, it is actually plausible.”
Sinner, who dedicated this win to an aunt that is in poor health, said the months before his case was resolved were not easy.
