Jannik Sinner not 'comfortable' with ongoing doping case but 'confident' of positive outcome ahead of Shanghai Masters

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World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will start his Shanghai Masters campaign on Saturday when he faces Taro Daniel. Ahead of playing his opening match, Sinner has been talking about his doping case, the decision of which has been appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and his relationship with Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner says he and Alcaraz are like "fire and ice".

Wilander: Alcaraz and Sinner 'following in the footsteps of the big three'

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Jannik Sinner says he remains “confident” of a positive outcome to his doping case but admits he is not “comfortable” with the situation.

The world No. 1 appeared to have avoided a ban after he was cleared of wrongdoing by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) following a positive test for clostebol.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have launched an appeal against the decision and are calling for Sinner to be suspended for one to two years.

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"I'm still surprised,” Sinner said in Shanghai about the appeal by WADA.

“But I will collaborate like I did before. I had three hearings in which the three hearings went all my way, which was good. But now let's see. But I'm very confident that it comes out very, very positively. I would be very, very surprised if it would be the opposite side.

“But it's not in a situation where I feel comfortable in, that's for sure, because I thought it was over. And now once again. So it's not easy."

Highlights: Alcaraz downs Sinner in marathon three-set classic to seal China Open title

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Sinner appeared to put any off-court distractions aside as he reached the final of the China Open this week.

The world No. 1 was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling final, after which the pair shared a plane together to the Shanghai Masters, where they both play their opening matches on Saturday.

Asked about the rivalry with Alcaraz, Sinner said they are like “fire and ice”.

"I feel like off the court we are quite similar on the court we are different,” he told the ATP.

“He is the one who brings the firepower and the hot shots, he involves the crowd. He is a bit different. I am more like the solid player, quite calm. So it's like fire and ice a bit. So but it's a nice combination.”

Alcaraz has said he is not “close friends” with Sinner but the pair “respect each other a lot”.

“For me it's nice that we are rivals on the court and then friends off the court,” said Sinner.

“Because, at least I feel like, talking from my side, that he pushes me to do better. I wake up in the morning trying to understand what I can do better, trying to beat him next time, which is something nice for me as a player.

'We are not close friends' - Alcaraz on rivalry with Sinner after China Open final

Video credit: SNTV

“And I feel like off the court we are quite similar because we surround ourselves with our close ones, we like to stay with the team. There are many, many similar things I feel like.

“Whenever we shake hands or when a match is done, after we left all on the court and then taking a plane or whatever, it was nice, actually, it was something different, but nice.”

Sinner starts his Shanghai Masters campaign against world No. 93 Taro Daniel.

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