Jack Draper has publicly backed Jannik Sinner as the Italian prepares to make his return from a three-month doping suspension, saying he “doesn’t deserve any hate”.
Sinner was cleared of fault or negligence by an independent panel and initially received no suspension after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol last March.
However, Wada appealed the lack of suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). The body accepted that he did not intend to cheat and accepted his argument that a member of his support team accidentally transferred the substance onto him during a massage, but argued that Sinner was responsible for his entourage. Wada eventually reached a settlement with the world No. 1, imposing a three-month ban, rather than going ahead with the planned hearing.
The timing of the suspension – allowing Sinner to return in time for his home event, the Italian Open, later this month, and causing minimal disruption to his preparations for the clay-court grand slam at Roland-Garros – raised some eyebrows, with players including Nick Kyrgios critical of perceived favouritism towards the ATP Tour’s top player.
“I think Jannik is a really, really genuine, nice person,” Draper, a personal friend of Sinner’s, told The Guardian and BBC Sport ahead of his own return to action at the Madrid Open this week.
“And on top of that, he’s obviously an unbelievable player. In this situation, I’m sure that he would have absolutely zero idea of anything. That’s just the way life goes – sometimes there’s mistakes.
“In terms of actually how I feel about him as a person, I think it’s important for people to know and recognise that the guy’s very, very kind-hearted and a good human being. So he doesn’t deserve any of the hate that he gets.”
The three-time major champion has been allowed to return to formal training in recent days, following Wada rules, which permit it from one month before the end of a suspension.
Draper was the first player to practice with Sinner since he entered the final month of his ban, with the pair training together in Monte Carlo shortly after Draper’s tight three-set, third-round loss at the clay-court tournament there.
“If you can train with anyone, it’s got to be probably the best in the world, right? He’s obviously had a bit of time off, but he’s playing at an incredible level still.
“I’m looking forward to having him back on the tour, because I think his presence has been missed,” Draper added.
The 23-year-old is seeded fifth in Madrid, meaning he will receive a first-round bye, and will play either Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor or a qualifier in the second round, with Novak Djokovic a potential quarter-final opponent.
He has soared up the rankings this year, off the back of impressive performances including winning his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells last month, and is sixth in the world heading into Madrid.
