He raised his arms to the sky, hugged his opponent of the day, the American Taylor Fritz, then immediately headed to the stands, where he hugged his staff first, before embracing his loved ones including the singer Seal: this is the image that will remain of Jannik Sinner from his fortnight in New York, arm in arm with this close guard who stood by him in the middle of the storm. Two weeks crossed in the hubbub of suspicions of doping that weighed on him after a positive test earlier in the season, and during which he justified his status as world number 1, helped by the premature exits of Carlos Alcaraz then Novak Djokovic, his two main competitors.
“This victory means so much to me,” said the Italian in the middle of the court, microphone in hand, while the crowd applauded him warmly. “It was not an easy period of my career, but I was perfectly surrounded and supported. I realized that there was life outside the courts. I had started the tournament saying that I didn't expect much from it? I guess I did pretty well.”
Upon his arrival in New York, mobbed by cameras
Three weeks ago, after he had just won the Cincinnati tournament, the tennis world trembled when it was learned that Sinner, world number 1 for two months, had tested positive earlier in the season, in March. He was not sanctioned because the level of the steroid found in his urine was very low, and his explanations (contaminated by his masseur who had allegedly used a cream containing the steroid) were considered convincing. Barely had he set foot in the Big Apple, and he was assailed by the cameras.
His first press conference, before the tournament began, was eagerly awaited. For a good ten minutes, he faced a barrage of questions that pressed him to explain himself. “In my head, I always knew that I had done nothing wrong,” he defended himself. “I have always respected the anti-doping rules and I always will. Anyone who knows me knows very well that I am incapable of doing anything that goes against the rules.” However, he ended his collaboration with his fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara, who had bought the cream, and with his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, who used it on himself before massaging the Italian tennis player. “They did a great job with me but because of these mistakes, I no longer feel confident enough to continue with them,” explained Sinner. “I have suffered a lot in recent months and now I need fresh air.”
Kyrgios attacks him on social media
In training as well as during his first match against the American Mackenzie McDonald, he is reassured by the reactions of the fans, who show him support in the storm. “Their behavior did me a lot of good,” he admits. With the players, it's another matter, and one of them, Nick Kyrgios, publicly puts his foot in it on his social networks. “He should be suspended,” believes the Australian. “Everyone is free to think and say what they want,” Sinner dismisses.
In the middle of the tournament, to everyone's surprise, Alcaraz and Djokovic were knocked out and the Italian became the big favourite of the competition. “It shows that this sport is unpredictable,” he reacts. “As soon as you drop a little bit in level, whether physically, mentally or in your tennis, you are in danger in your results. I come from skiing, and in skiing, you make a mistake and your race is over. In tennis, there is always an opportunity to catch up. It's very different mentally.”
He is moving forward calmly in his tournament: he will not have experienced any five-set matches in the fortnight. “I started my tournament by losing my first set, and I had to build my confidence during the competition,” he explains. A competition that will have changed him. He overcame unprecedented media pressure, became one of the rare players in history to have won his first two Grand Slams in the same year (after the Australian Open). The way he is seen, it is certain, will never be the same again.
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