The China Mail - Jannik Sinner: no.1 who defied doping case to dominate men's tennis

Sinner's status as Italy's biggest sporting star and the new dominant force in men's tennis has only risen over the past fortnight in Melbourne.

With Spain's golden boy and chief rival Carlos Alcaraz long gone he has just one more hurdle to clear, against Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final, to become back-to-back champion.

Only three other men have managed the feat at Melbourne Park since the turn of the century -- Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Sinner has positioned himself to join them despite being dogged by controversy after twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March.

Hanging over his head is a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal against his exoneration, the global body asking for Sinner to be banned for up to two years.

A hearing is scheduled at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for April. He has denied knowingly doping.

"There's been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months now, since April last year," said his coach Darren Cahill.

"He deals with it as well as anybody that I've ever seen deal with pressure. He's an amazing young man that's been able to put that to one side.

"He has a clear conscience with what's going on. That's the main reason he's been able to go onto the court and walk tall and have that belief and play with the confidence that he has."

Born in the northern Italian village of Innichen, a stone's throw from the Austrian border, a career in professional tennis was not a given for Sinner.

He was a champion skier as a youngster and still enjoys the sport in the off-season.

Sinner was also a keen footballer, playing for a local team as an attacker.

But he decided to commit to tennis and at age 13 moved 600 kilometres (400 miles) away from his family to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera to start his long march to the elite levels of the game.

- Wise head -

After a steady grind, Sinner made an emphatic statement that he was among the elite by winning his maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne last year.

He hasn't looked back, winning eight titles in 2024, including the US Open and ATP Finals with a striking aspect his extraordinary air of calm on court.

Quiet and reserved, he keeps his personal life away from the spotlight as much as possible, saying very little about his relationship with fellow tennis player Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

Seen by some as too serious and even icy, the Italian has worked to soften his image in Melbourne, even laughing during some of his interviews, a side of him rarely seen before.

"He's matured for sure," said Cahill. "I think there's many areas of not just what he's doing on the court but certainly off the court as well.

"All these young kids, they are living a life that is great.

"But you have to have a wise head on your shoulders dealing with the media and the fans and the pressure of playing in front of 15,000 people and living up to expectations.

"You grow up fast. Jannik is one of those."

M.Zhou--ThChM