John McEnroe hints Jannik Sinner’s ban from tennis is ‘looming’ as he salutes Novak Djokovic

Kevin Palmer
Jannik Sinner and John McEnroe
John McEnroe gives his verdict on Jannik Sinner

John McEnroe believes Novak Djokovic’s levels of excellence have driven Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to take their games to the next level.

Sinner’s dominance of men’s tennis was confirmed as he comprehensively beat Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final, as he successfully defended the title he won in Melbourne a year ago.

The manner of his victory confirmed world No 1 Sinner is in a different league compared to his nearest rival in the rankings, with seven-time Grand Slam champion McEnroe suggesting the Italian has been forced to find new gears in his game as he looked to win the race to succeed Djokovic as the king of the men’s game.

Djokovic beat French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in impressive fashion at the Australian Open at the quarter-final stage before he was forced to pull out of the tournament due to injury.

While McEnroe believes the Sinner has now taken over from Djokovic at the top of the men’s game, he suggests the Serbian has inspired him to take his game to the next level.

“Djokovic, you’ve got to hand it to him because he’s forced these youngsters to get better,” McEnroe told Eurosport.

“They realise how good he is and still is and he showed that when he outwitted Alcaraz and the end of the day and pulled that match out.

“We have been talking about when is the changing of the guard. You are seeing it for real. Sinner and Alcaraz won all four majors (last year) and you are looking to see who the next guy is.

“Will it be an American? When is (Joao) Fonseca breaking through? But boy oh boy, it looks like those two (Sinner and Alcaraz) look like they are going to dominate.”

McEnroe also commented on Sinner’s potential suspension from tennis, with the World Anti-Doing Agency (WADA) appeal against his non-suspension following last year’s failed drug tests set to be heard in April.

Sinner was found to have the anabolic steroid clostebol in his system but was cleared of wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, who agreed with the Italian’s claims that he was not to blame for the presence of the banned substance.

That verdict has been challenged by WADA, with McEnroe surprised the threat of a lengthy ban from tennis has not impacted Sinner’s mentality in recent months.

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“Off the court, the issue with the drug thing. A suspension is looming potentially,” added McEnroe.

“I thought that would affect him at the US Open, but it didn’t and he played fantastic there.

“Then they said the case was over and done with and then it crops up again. So you are thinking that’s going to get into his head, but it doesn’t. He’s able to play just as effectively, if not better.

“He’s an awesome player, there’s no doubt about it. The way he gets into the corners is unbelievable, he puts tonnes of pressure on opponents, that’s clear.”

Sinner took his career prize money close to the $40million mark with his third Grand Slam win and that total looks set to increase at a rapid pace as long as he is not banned from tennis after the WADA appeal in April.

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