"But we never know what happened": Dutch coach defends 'unbelievable nice guy' Jannik amidst doping case

Dutch team in the Davis Captain Paul Haarhuis has heaped praise on the attitude of Italy’s Jannik Sinner. The 23-year-old is already regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category.

Sinner has had a fabulous season. He finished it off in style as he helped Italy defend the title after beating Australia in the final with a score of 2-0. With that, he only became the second player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era to go a full season without losing a single match in straight sets. The only other player to achieve this feat was the former world number one Roger Federer in 2005.

That was the fourth major title for Sinner in 2024. Earlier, he also lifted the Australian Open, the US Open and the ATP Finals which helped him finish the year as the world number one. Despite those achievements, Sinner’s year was marred because of a controversy which started after he was tested positive for banned substance in March. Interestingly, he escaped a ban as the International Tennis Integrity Association accepted player’s counsel’s response where they claimed that the availability of a banned substance in the player was because of receiving a cream from a member of the coaching staff to treat an injury.

The case has once again gathered attention after the World Anti-Doping Agency decided to appeal against the case. Dutch coach Haarhuis was asked about this during the ongoing Davis Cup where he backed Sinner to come out of the case clean. "What's my feeling? I feel that Jannik, in my personal opinion, is an unbelievable nice guy (and) great player," he said. "But we (might) never know what happened."

Sinner also talked about the issue during the Davis Cup and admitted that the issue stays in his mind despite getting a lot of success on the court. "I mean, of course it's in the head a little bit," he said. "I always say, we had three hearings; three hearings which came out in a positive way. So hopefully also the next one (will). For me, the most important part is that all the people who are around me, and know me as a human being, trust me, no? That's also the reason I kept playing the level I had. Of course, I had some ups and downs, and whoever knows me, (knows) I was emotionally a bit down and a bit also heartbroken. But sometimes life gives you difficulties and you just have to stand for it."