Top seed Jannik Sinner heads into Monday’s start of the US Open facing dual pressure, including a seeded finals date with Novak Djokovic.
The 23-year-old world No. 1 has emerged from a scandal over contact with a banned substance which only surfaced this week.
The Italian tested positive for one-billionth of a gramme of the medication Clostebol, which Sinner’s lawyer’s proved this spring was unintentional and a result of contact via his physio during a massage through sores on his skin..
In addition to a maniacal outburst by Nick Kyrgios – involved recently in an actual assault case – Sinner faces the usual challenges thrown up by the last major of the season.
“The top seed begins with Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round and will likely have to get past Spanish third seed Carlo Alcaraz in the semis before a potential final with Djokovic.
While Sinner is at least boosted by his title victory this week at the Cincinnati Masters, Alcaraz will need to recover from what he called his “worst match” of his career after going out in his first match in Cincinnati.
The 37-year-old Djokovic will come into Flushing Meadows without having played a hardcourt match since the spring.
The Serb who won the Olympic gold medal in Paris on clay, skipped both Montreal and Cincinnati and comes into the major cold. The winner of 24 Grand Slam singles titles will start with a qualifier.
Djokovic has already begun making up for lost time, with training sessions on the cement at the venue.
Kyrgios, who has not touched a racquet since June, 2023, lashed out at Sinner, saying he had escaped sanctions under a technicality.
“Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for two years. Your performance was enhanced,” the outlaw Aussie posted on social media.
The tweet was so blatant, that even Twitter/X added a note of caution below, noting the facts in the case.
Inquiring minds are wondering if the rebuke may have been due to Sinner currently dating one of Kyrgios’ old tennis flames, No. 15 Anna Kalinskaya.
“The report says there wasn’t any performance enhancing,” it reads. “Even if the administration had been intentional, the minute amounts likely to have been administered would not have had […] any relevant doping, or performance enhancing, effect upon the player.”
Kalinskaya, who was with Kyrgios in 2020, was one of several female tennis players linked with the bad-boy Australian.
The breakup reportedly came on bad terms, with Kalinskaya noting “we aren’t friends.”
Added Kyrgios: “Nothing happened. We just went our separate ways. Unfortunately things didn’t work out. We had some fun memories.”
Sinner’s straight-arrow coach Darren Cahill said the team played the episode strictly by the book, adding that Sinner’s comfortable financial situation helped to get the investigation done in good time.
.”It makes it a little bit easier for someone that’s highly-ranked because you can afford to fight this case properly and fairly,” the Aussie said.
“Whereas I think a player ranked 300 or 500 or 1000 in the world, if they get into this situation, they don’t have the funds.”
“(Anti-doping authorities) hired two of their own experts … and we had one of our experts as well.
So three experts all said that it’s highly likely this story is correct.
“The integrity of the way it was handled, the ranking (of the player) doesn’t matter.”
