The China Mail - Stony Sinner defied doping worry to dominate men's tennis

That cloud cleared on Saturday when Sinner agreed to a three-month ban and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) withdrew a case it was taking to the Court for Arbitration in Sport.

Te case was still alive in January, when the world number one blew away second seed Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final to become back-to-back champion in Melbourne.

That followed a crushing victory over Taylor Fritz in the final of the US Open last September.

Sinner was dogged by controversy after twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March.

"There's been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months now," said his coach Darren Cahill after the Melbourne triumph, Sinner's third major title.

"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."

Sinner, who denied knowingly doping, had been able to play on, first because he appealed the finding and then after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) exonerated him in August.

WADA appealed that ITIA ruling to CAS. The hearing was scheduled on April 16-17. WADA were demanding a two-year ban.

On Saturday, Sinner announced he had agreed to a three-month ban and WADA withdrew its appeal.

- 'Prime Novak' -

Born in the northern predominantly German-speaking Italian village of Innichen, a stone's throw from the Austrian border, Sinner did not initially appear set for a career in professional tennis.

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.

He committed 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 top.

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.

It set the tone for an extraordinary 2024 in which he won eight titles, including the US Open and ATP Finals, with a striking aspect being his extraordinary air of calm on court.

He began to look increasingly like the heir to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the dominant trio in men's tennis this century.

Zverev called Sinner's display "prime Novak" after the Australian final.

Sinner's other coach, Simone Vagnozzi, acknowledged the majors are the key measure.

"He has already won three," said Vagnozzi.

"I think he's one of the guys that can reach the top level. I mean, when we speak about top level, we think about Novak, about Roger or Rafa."

While Sinner is the undoubted king of hard courts he has yet to go beyond the semi-finals on the clay of Roland Garros or on the grass of Wimbledon. The timing of his ban means he will be able to play in both this year.

- 'Grow up fast' -

"It's for sure one thing I always think about," Sinner said in Melbourne.

"You have to be a complete player, not only one surface, but on also the other two.

Quiet and reserved, he keeps his personal life away from the spotlight, 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 he even laughed 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.

"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."

B.Carter--ThChM