Tennis: Doping in the spotlight as Sinner beats Jarry at Australian Open

Sinner

Jannik Sinner opened his Australian Open title defence with a 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry on Monday, contrasting doping cases in the two players. 

World number one Sinner, who survived suspension despite two drug tests in March, was well-served at Rod Laver Arena on a blazing Rod Laver Arena by the large-serving Chilean who spent 11 months in 2020 behind bars for doping. 

Jarry had written in the build-up to the match to the Chilean newspaper La Tercera that he hoped he’d received “the same help” as Sinner from tennis officials after failing his own exams. 

Sinner is still doping but the World Anti-Doping Agency wants to block him at least for two years in the Court of Arbritration for Sport. An audition has been arranged for April. 

It’s not weigh heavily on the Italian’s tennis: his match win over the 36-year-old world number one Jarry was the US Open winner’s 16th in a row and 15th at the hardcourt Grand Slams. 

“Well first of all I’m super, super happy to be back so thank you so much for coming,” Sinner told the crowd. 

“The atmosphere has been amazing.  

He’s (Jarry) such a great player, so much upside. Happy how I played in a real difficult situation in the opening 2 sets, glad to go to the next round”. 

Jarry was tough to come by, held serve relentlessly in the first two sets before dropping his serve in the tiebreaks. 

Sinner aced in the first tiebreak and made it four set points on some sharp work from his net. Jarry won two sets in the second tiebreak but lost the third by a blind backhand to the tramlines. 

Sinner nearly made it clear after receiving Jarry’s serve in the second game of the final set and cruised to victory, serving out the match to love. 

The Italian was applauded from the terraces as he went up to meet Jarry at the net and give him a light handshake. 

Sinner will square off against the winner of Japan’s Taro Daniel and a local wildcard Tristan Schoolkate in the third round. 

Sinner escaped culpability last year when a doping commission accepted his defence that he was intoxicated by the anabolic drug clostebol administered by his former physio through massages. 

He lost his ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells results, prize money and ranking points. 

They put Sinner on temporary suspension for each positive test but he was given the go-ahead to continue after his club made urgent appeals. 

It didn’t become public until August. 

In 2020, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) banned Jarry for life after he tested positive for two anabolic steroids, although the organisation was fine with his rationalisation that he’d accidentally consumed multi-vitamins with the banned chemicals on the advice of his physician. 

Four months before the sanction, the ITF said he was temporarily suspended for missing the drug tests. 

Sinner beats Jarry at the Australian Open in doping-heavy action – hear the whole story here. Subscribe to Sports Monks for all the latest News!

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