Former World No.4 doesn’t think Lorenzo Musetti will be ‘new’ Jannik Sinner amid meteoric rise

He has shots, he knows how to use them, he also knows how to think about them, and maybe vary his choices. He plays intelligent tennis, and this immediately puts him high up among my sympathies. He knows how to be spectacular and is always worth the price of the ticket. I like him a lot, but he will not be a new Sinner, and that is right.

Adriano Panatta told Corriere della Sera

Musetti will become the newest World No.8 (his career best) on Monday. He will next participate in his home tournament, the Italian Open where last year, he gave a walkover to Terence Atmane in the second round. Sinner, on the other hand, did not play in the Madrid Open as he is serving his three-month doping ban.

Jannik Sinner opens up about the difficult time due to the doping ban

Jannik Sinner received a three-month doping ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after winning the Australian Open this year. He won’t be dealing with the doping saga anymore as his ban ends on Sunday night. Recently in an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI, Sinner said that he wanted to take a break because of his experience in the locker room.

I remember before the Australian Open this year, it wasn’t a very happy time. I didn’t really feel comfortable in the locker room, where we were eating. Players were looking at me differently. I said to myself: ‘Maybe, I need to take some time off after Australia.’ I didn’t want (the ban) though.

Jannik Sinner said

The three-time Grand Slam champion tested positive for clostebol twice in March last year but the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) didn’t punish him as the banned anabolic steroid entered his body during physiotherapy sessions.

His former physio Giacomo Naldi was using a contaminated spray and inadvertently transferred the substance to the 23-year-old’s body. Later WADA demanded a lengthy ban before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but surprisingly reached a case resolution a few months before the scheduled hearing.

Sinner will be making the comeback to the tour at the Italian Open which starts on May 7. He had skipped the tournament last year due to injury. Following his home event, the World No.1 will be playing the Hamburg European Open to get enough match practice before the French Open where he is yet to reach a final, producing his best when he advanced to the semifinal last year.

Despite playing just the Australian Open, which he defended by breezing past Alexander Zverev, no player came close to him in the rankings table. He stands comfortably on top of the rankings table with 9,730 points (in the live rankings) more than 1,500 points ahead of second-placed Zverev who has 8,085 points.