April 26 : Jannik Sinner held onto his world number one ranking ahead of his return from a three-month doping ban, but the Italian does not expect his comeback to be as smooth when he takes to the court again at the Rome Masters next month.
Sinner has not played since winning the Australian Open at the start of the season and accepted a ban in February following a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal’s decision to clear him after two positive tests.
The 23-year-old was allowed to return to training on April 13 and his suspension will end on May 4, before his competitive return at the Italian Open, which gets underway three days later.
Sinner, who spent time building fitness mindful of the French Open starting on May 25, was assured of retaining the top ranking for his home tournament after his closest challenger Alexander Zverev crashed to an early defeat in Monte Carlo.
“We’re training very hard. Hopefully we’ll get some momentum going again ahead of the clay season. It certainly won’t be easy for me,” Sinner told broadcaster ORF Sudtirol.
“The first games will be really difficult. But hopefully I’ll be able to get back into the rhythm and then we’ll see how it goes.”
Sinner, who trained with Britain’s world number six Jack Draper at the Tennis Club de Beaulieu in France recently, said there were plenty of positives from his enforced absence from the tour.
“I think at the beginning of the three months, it was quite nice,” Sinner added.
“A bit of time away from all the grind, I spent time with family, with friends. I was doing new things and getting to know myself better, finding out where I stand.
“I think it helped me a lot.”
Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban
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Sinner does not expect easy road on return from doping ban
- Sinner was assured of retaining the top ranking for his home tournament after his closest challenger crashed to an early defeat
- Sinner said there were plenty of positives from his enforced absence from the tour
McIlory calls for Australian Open rescheduling in bid to lure stronger field
- The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week
Rory McIlroy, the world’s second-ranked golfer, has called on organizers of the Australian Open to reschedule the event in an effort to attract a stronger international field to the tournament in the future.
The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week and finished in a tie for 14th, eight shots behind winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
“I’ve been excited to come back down here for a while, it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open,” McIlroy said after his final round.
“This is a golf tournament that has got so much potential and I think it showed a little bit of that this week. There’s still a ways to go.
“I would love to have a few more players come down and play. But it’s hard. There’s three tournaments going on in the schedule this week.
“There needs to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff.
“Hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down and play.”
The tournament marked the end of a stellar season for the 36-year-old.
In addition to his long-awaited Masters success, McIlroy won a seventh Race to Dubai title plus the Irish Open and was a member of the European team that successfully defended the Ryder Cup in the US in September.
“I’m looking forward to a little break,” he said. “I played a pretty heavy schedule post the summer, with the Irish Open, then the Ryder Cup and then I’ve been globetrotting all over the last couple of months.”
“I’m excited to have little bit of downtime, finally reflect on everything, maybe watch a few of the tournaments back. I’ve not really let myself do that too much.”
“Looking forward to the Christmas break and put the feet up, a few glasses of wine and think back on about what an unbelievable year it’s been.”
