Novak Djokovic has warned Jannik Sinner that his three-month doping ban will hang over him like a "cloud" - and questioned both the timing and length of the sanction handed to the Italian.
after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted his explanation that a banned anabolic steroid, clostebol, entered his system accidentally.
In an interview on Piers Morgan: Uncensored on Youtube, Djokovic said: "That cloud will follow him just as the cloud of Covid will follow me, for the rest of his, or my career in this case.
"It's just something that, it was so major, and when that happens, over time it will fade, but I don't think it will disappear. There's always going to be a certain group of people that will always try to bring that forward."
Djokovic said he believed that Sinner, a regular practice partner, "didn't do it on purpose", but he went on to question how the Italian managed to serve his time without missing a Grand Slam.
"There is the lack of transparency, the inconsistency, the convenience [of] the ban coming, between the slams, so he doesn't miss out the others - it's just, it was very, very odd," added Djokovic.
"I really don't like how the case was being handled and you could hear so many other players, both male and female, who had some similar situations coming out in the media, and complaining that it was a preferable treatment."
Sinner had tested positive in March 2024 for clostebol, before being cleared in August by an independent tribunal who determined he was not to blame.
WADA, which previously said it was seeking a ban of between one and two years for Sinner, appealed against that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September and a subsequent hearing had been set for April 16 and 17.
In the agreement reached in February this year, Sinner accepted a ban of just three months but insisted the decision still affected him.
"I was very fragile after what happened," he told Sky Italy earlier this year. "I would tell a lie if I said I was person without feelings or emotions. In life you learn, every year I learn more about myself, also about my value. It was not easy, very hard at times, but the people around me gave me the strength to understand what had happened."
WADA believe Sinner did not intend to cheat but that he was responsible for his entourage's negligence.
In a statement they said: "WADA accepts the athlete's explanation for the cause of the violation as outlined in the first instance decision. WADA accepts that Mr. Sinner did not intend to cheat, and that his exposure to clostebol did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit and took place without his knowledge as the result of negligence of members of his entourage.
"However, under the Code and by virtue of CAS precedent, an athlete bears responsibility for the entourage's negligence. Based on the unique set of facts of this case, a three-month suspension is deemed to be an appropriate outcome."
Sinner retained the Australian Open at the start of the year and beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.
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