Carlos Alcaraz claims Jannik Sinner doping appeal is ‘not a good sign for tennis’
Carlos Alcaraz has reacted to the news about Jannik Sinner’s doping case being appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), with the Spaniard admitting that it is ‘not really a good sign’.
Alcaraz is currently in Beijing for the China Open, progressing to the quarter-finals after comprehensively beating Tallon Griekspoor, 6-1 6-2, in less than an hour.
This was Alcaraz’s 200th career victory, becoming the second fastest player to achieve this feat behind John McEnroe (245) after doing it in 252 matches.
After the match, the 21-year-old spoke about what this achievement means to him, “It was a great achievement, getting my 200th win on the ATP Tour. I always try and want to win every match that I play.
“Just two years and a half, more or less, being in the Tour, having my 200th win is great for me. I just want to keep going, to keep getting more and more wins.”
Vamooooosssss 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/FO6XAZv9zr
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) September 29, 2024
Despite the scale of his achievement, Alcaraz was also questioned a lot about his rival Jannik Sinner, who has seen his doping case appealed by WADA this week.
Sinner is also in the China Open quarter-finals, and Alcaraz spoke about how he sympathises with the World No.1, “It is difficult for him. I know everyone is talking about it, the news is talking about it.
“Probably, as he said before New York, people started to look at him in a different way. I don’t know how it can be, but for sure I understand the position. I feel (for) him.”
Alcaraz added, “But anyway, the game and the level that he’s playing with everything he’s been through right now, it’s insane. I hope that this thing… will be aside soon and he’s able to stay focused on what he loves, and that is playing tennis, trying to keep going.”
Sinner twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol within an eight day period back in March, but was cleared of any wrongdoing on the grounds of contamination by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
However, WADA released a statement on Saturday confirming their intention to have Sinner suspended for one to two years.
And Alcaraz went onto comment on how this situation is not good for the sport, “I think for tennis it’s not really good, not really a good sign for tennis in general. I thought it was closed. This month I didn’t know what happened exactly.
“I just saw the news and it surprised me a little bit. Okay, what’s going on, that the case is open again? I don’t know how it’s going to be the next months. For sure, to tennis, not a good sign.”
WADA appeals case of tennis player Jannik Sinner. Read more here: https://t.co/vExHGdmkZG
— WADA (@wada_ama) September 28, 2024
Both Alcaraz and Sinner will be putting any off-court issues to the side for now, as they play their quarter-final matches against Karen Khachanov and Jiri Lehecka, respectively.
Inside the baseline…
It is clear how much respect Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have for one another, and it almost seems as though the former trusts that his rival is innocent of any wrongdoing with these latest comments. However, it looks set to be a few nervous weeks and months ahead for Sinner, as WADA takes this case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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