Novak Djokovic expressed his doubts. Guest of the sulfur British journalist Piers Morgan as part of the program “Piers Morgan Uncensored”, published this Tuesday on the host’s YouTube channel, the Serbian tennis player was asked about the suspension of Jannik Sinner at the beginning of the year.
Testing positive twice for clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in 2024, the current world No.
Intervening after the Australian Open, which he won by beating Alexander Zverev in the final, Alexander Zverev made a run for the Rome tournament, allowing Sinner to return to competition before Roland-Garros and thus not miss any Grand Slam tournaments. A situation that is difficult for many tennis players to accept, including Djokovic.
“Too many warning signs”
“The way this affair unfolded… There were too many warning signs,” assessed the man with 24 major titles on the microphone Piers Morgan. “The fact that the suspension happened between Grand Slam tournaments so he didn’t miss anything is just strange. It’s very strange. We’ve heard so many other players, men and women (…) complain about preferential treatment,” he said.
“I’d like to believe it, I don’t think he did it on purpose, but he is clearly responsible. When we see other people suspended for years for similar offenses and he was suspended for three months, it’s not fair,” said the 38-year-old Serb, still respecting the calm Sinner showed despite the controversy.
“This affair will follow”
“He handled this media storm with extraordinary maturity and calm, and I congratulate him on that. Despite all that, he continues to dominate and play very well,” said the world number four.
“This affair will follow him like the Covid case will follow me for the rest of my career,” Djokovic said referring to his refusal to be vaccinated during the pandemic, which resulted in him being banned from entering several countries, including Australia in early 2022.
“Some people will always want to bring this back to the negotiating table. I have known Sinner since he was 14 years old. I have always respected him. When it happened, I was shocked. This was not easy for him, I felt real empathy and affection,” concluded the native of Belgrade.
