Sinner's Nightmare, Wada Appeals. He Risks a 2-Year Suspension: "I'm Disappointed, But I Remain Innocent"

He plays "disappointed" and with his thoughts. Sinner suspended between the court and reality: knowing that while his left foot steps on the baseline to serve, the world will see that the Clostebol case has not yet been definitively closed. The much-feared Wada appeal has arrived, which means another four or five months on the grill of public opinion and the sports court, waiting for a new sentence. Playing with the weight on his back? He did it for months, from Wimbledon until the start of the US Open. And he did it again yesterday in Beijing, beating the Russian Safiullin (3-6, 6-2, 6-3) in a comeback after a first set in great suffering. As for the appeal of the anti-doping agency: "I didn't expect it. I found out a couple of days ago, today it became official. But it was a surprise for me - says the world number one -. Maybe they just want to be sure that everything is in the right place. I'm still surprised that they filed an appeal". More than surprised, the Italian says he is "disappointed", because "we had three hearings and all three went very well for me. Some things you can never change". It was "several months of hearings and investigations culminating with three high-level judges who examined every detail in a formal hearing - explains Jannik through his press office -. They issued a thorough sentence that explains why they found me not guilty, with clear evidence and my collaboration". For this reason, adds the 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria, "I am quite confident that it will be the same this time, that it will turn out that I am innocent. I think it is obvious, in my head I know that I have done nothing wrong".

According to Fitp president Angelo Binaghi "Sinner has not only the evidence of the facts on his side, but also the acquittal by three independent bodies". The Wada appeal for the federation's number one can only be "positive, because it will confirm the boy's innocence, giving us back a champion in full serenity".

Should everything go wrong, the prospects make the skin crawl for the fans and for such a young athlete. The risk is that of a suspension of up to two years, but obviously this is the maximum possible punishment (not retroactive), considering that the results obtained up to now will not be erased. There are several months of waiting ahead (from three to six according to estimates), week after week in which the Italian tennis player will have to confirm himself as the number one in the world even more: points to defend and a complex psychological situation.

It must be said that Jannik has a team and above all a character sufficiently structured to handle everything. At Wimbledon he said he never slept well at night, and in the semifinal he surrendered - after also feeling a little ill - to Daniil Medvedev. The one who is worried in this case is also the Davis captain Filippo Volandri. The former player yesterday staunchly defended Jannik: "I am sure that this story will end in the best possible way and will make him even stronger than before. We are by his side, and in the Davis Cup there will always be a shirt ready for him".