Sawt Falasteen - Sinner declares innocence as ATP chief says doping case 'run by the book'

Defending Australian Open champion Sinner twice tested positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March.

He was exonerated by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, which accepted his explanation that the drug entered his system when his physio used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.

But the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Sinner is awaiting the verdict with a suspension possible.

The 23-year-old said he had always been "very, very careful on every single medicine I take, even what I eat".

"When the bottle is open, I throw it away, I take a new one," he said in Melbourne on the eve of the Australian Open.

"In my mind I know exactly what happened, and that's how I block it (out).

"I haven't done anything wrong, that's why I'm still here. That's why I'm still playing."

Sinner, who faces a stern first-round test at Melbourne Park against big-hitting Chilean Nicolas Jarry, admitted the scandal continued to play on his mind.

"You think about this, of course," he said. "I would lie if I would tell you I forget.

"It's something what I have with me now already for quite a long time. But it is what it is. I'm here trying to prepare the Grand Slam. Let's see how it goes."

Asked if he knew when a verdict on the WADA appeal was due, he said: "I know exactly as much as you guys know.

"We are in a stage where we don't know many, many things."

- 'Misinformation' -

Last week, Novak Djokovic called for more transparency around doping suspensions in tennis, saying high-ranked players appeared to be treated differently to others.

Gaudenzi told newswire Australian Associated Press in an interview published Friday that was not true and Sinner's case had been dealt with properly.

"I genuinely believe there has been a lot of misinformation out there, which is unfortunate," Gaudenzi said.

"I am 100 percent sure that there has not been any preferential treatment. The process has been run by the book and according to the rules, by the ITIA."

While Djokovic said he believed Sinner when he said he tested positive due to contamination, the 24-time Grand Slam winner asserted that players had been "kept in the dark" throughout the process.

But Gaudenzi said he only found out about the case "two days before the announcement from the ITIA -- the way it should have been".

"I initially was a bit shocked. (But) it is completely independent and they obviously went to an independent panel."

Gaudenzi pleaded for patience so the saga could play out, while declaring that the sport would survive should Sinner be banned.

"If that is the case, I think he'll survive and I think we'll survive. Overall, tennis is a very strong product," he said.

D.AbuRida--SF-PST