Jannik Sinner was comprehensive in his first-round US Open win earlier this week, brushing aside any distractions with impressive poise.
It was always bound to be a tricky task for the Italian to overcome, after all that had come before him regarding his appealed drugs scandal.
Everyone has an opinion on the matter, and with how mental a sport tennis can be, this could have crushed most players.
But Jannik Sinner is not like most players, and since winning that first-round match, he has sought to take aim at those who did not support him.
Jannik Sinner fires sly dig at many players on tour
Although the main purpose of his claim was undoubtedly to thank Berrettini, in doing so he also took aim at many players on tour who were either silent on the matter or outright inflammatory.
After all, plenty have taken both sides, with Nick Kyrgios claiming Sinner should have been banned.
This all came about after Sinner tested positive for the steroid clostebol, a charge that was later revoked upon appeal.
Now, speaking to Italian outlet il Fatto Quotidiano, the 23-year-old has boldly claimed: ‘The last period was not easy for me. I think that now slowly we are slowly trying with my team to get back to normal. I am very happy with what Matteo Berrettini said, we know each other well and we respect each other a lot. He showed me a lot of respect, it was a great honour.’
‘I learned who is my friend and who is not, I saw it right away. I realized how important sport is but also life outside of tennis, that there are many things worse than what I went through.’
Such a staunch claim was in response to what Berrettini had said: ‘We talked in the locker room, just by looking into each other’s eyes we realized how difficult it was to manage this situation. No one would want to be in his shoes, but I know him well and I’m sure it was a mistake.’
Jannik Sinner stumbled through his US Open first-round match
Despite all the controversy swirling around him, Sinner got to work in New York despite a patchy start, coming through against Mackenzie McDonald in four sets.
However, it looked supremely shaky at one point, with the American having gone a set and a break up on the Australian Open champion.
As one of the three outstanding favourites to win the US Open, many wondered how all this off-court drama might have impacted the mental state of this young champion.
And, it was clear to see the toll it had taken early on, making uncharacteristic errors as he fell 2-6 in the first set.
But, reigniting that flawless mindset, he put on a show for the New York crowd, and has hopefully now got past the worst of it. He can only get better.
He faces another American next, Alex Michelsen, later today.
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