Sinner makes a confession in the dressing room as Medvedev speaks out on the saga | Tennis | Sport

Sinner steadfastly maintained his innocence, but the story became the main talking point before the US Open. He ignored the potential distraction, however, and defeated Mackenzie McDonald in his first-round match at Arthur Ashe.

After losing the first set, he won 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1. But in his post-match press conference, attention again turned to the noise off the court, and he was asked how the dressing room had reacted to the news.

“Yes, there are some reactions,” Sinner admitted. “You know, I can’t really control what they think and what they say. You know, that’s how it all went and that’s how it was, I’m already talking, right?”

“I can’t control the players’ reaction and if I have to say something to someone, I speak privately because that’s the kind of person I am. But overall it wasn’t bad. So I’m happy with it.”

Daniil Medvedev was the last player to be asked for his verdict on the Sinner situation after his first-round match. The Russian defeated Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6 before commenting on the saga surrounding one of his main title rivals.

Medvedev said: “I think my perspective is a little bit… I think I saw Taylor (Fritz), and I really like what he said. He said: ‘Look, only he knows what exactly happened, so we can’t know. Nobody except him, his team and maybe the people who run the independent tribunal can know the exact truth.’

“I hope that this situation is the same for every player, that every player can defend himself, because I think that what he did was not within the rules. It’s just that the rules are a bit vague, etc.

“The only thing that worries me a little bit about doping cases is to imagine that he knew what was happening and good for him that he was able to defend himself. Imagine any tennis player in the top 100 getting an email saying: ‘Look, there was cocaine in the blood.’

“You come to them and say: ‘I have never done anything in my life. I don’t know how it happened. If you don’t know, you get suspended. That’s a bit of a tricky part, but that’s the way the doping rules are.

“It’s okay. You have to live with it. Like I said, I just hope that every player is treated equally.”