Lindsay Davenport, former WTA number one, was the last to attack Jannik Sinner for the doping issue concerning the young Italian, almost totally ignoring the reasons why he was able to continue playing. The former American legend joined Nick Kyrgios and those who criticize the young Italian, who however is not to blame for all this.
Sinner, after discovering the positivity to clostebol, collaborated with the authorities, defended himself and did all this according to certain and pre-established rules.
At the moment WADA - the World Anti-Doping Agency - will not appeal to the CAS against the sentence that acquitted the Italian, but has asked for additional documentation to have even clearer ideas. A possible appeal currently seems distant.
"I'm honestly shocked, like most people. It seems like we're only now finding out what happened behind the scenes. Why was he allowed to play all year? It's not fair to the other players, obviously not everyone is treated the same. This is especially true for lower-ranked players. Money seems to be the deciding factor, because you have a better chance of paying for the best lawyers and everything else," said Davenport in an exclusive interview with SportKlub.
But dear Lindsey, what's Jannik's fault for having the resources to be able to rely on the best lawyers? None! Sinner did what he could to defend himself, and rightly so. If the situation in general needs to be changed, then that's another matter, but I find the controversy aimed at personally targeting the player pointless.
In the meantime, Davenport also spoke out about Novak Djokovic. On August 4, the Serbian achieved his greatest dream at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Nole played an incredible final against Carlos Alcaraz on Court Philippe-Chatrier and won a very tough match in two sets.
A victory that finally allowed him to win the gold medal: the only title missing from his rich collection. Things did not go as well in the Grand Slam tournaments. At the Australian Open, the Serbian surrendered in the semifinals to Jannik Sinner; while at Roland Garros he was unable to participate in the quarterfinal with Casper Ruud due to a knee injury.
At Wimbledon he probably exceeded expectations after the surgery to the meniscus of his left knee (done only a month earlier) by pushing himself to the final. Finally, at the US Open he suffered a disappointing defeat in the third round against Alexei Popyrin. For the first time since 2017, Djokovic has not added a single Major to his collection.
According to Davenport, however, Djokovic would still have preferred to win the gold medal than complete the Grand Slam in 2024.
"I was so happy when he won the gold medal in Paris. If you had asked him if he wanted to win gold or all four Grand Slams this year, I think he would have chosen the gold medal. It was definitely the best moment in tennis this year. He wanted that medal more than anyone else, more than anything in the world. He achieved it after the operation and losing in the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz. It just shows how great he is," she said in the same interview in which she talked about Sinner.
