Jannik Sinner finds the wrath of Novak Djokovic fans. Since he snatched the ATP no 1 position, he had been on the bad list for the Serb’s followers. However, things were still going smoothly until Sinner failed in the anti-doping case not once but twice. Claiming the Serb’s true recognition, his fans now pledged a special demand for the former number one.
Rothenberg reached out to the ATP regarding Sinner’s loss of ranking points from Indian Wells. “I’ve asked ATP what will happen re: counting Sinner (and Djokovic’s) weeks at #1, a metric ATP promotes quite a bit. Because if Sinner’s 400 points from IW are retroactively subtracted, which would make sense, then Djokovic would’ve been #1 for one additional week (last week),” tweeted Rothenberg.
His point referred to the Italian ATP star’s two failed anti-doping tests in March, during his participation in Miami and Indian Wells. If Sinner wasn’t allowed to play the Indian Wells, Djokovic would have an additional week as the world number one.
Failure in any anti-doping case generally leads to the player’s exclusion from participating in any tournament. Sinner was found positive for Clostebol, an anabolic androgenic steroid. He was found with 121 picograms per ml (pg/ml) and 122 pg/ml Clostebol in his two respective drug tests. While an independent tribunal ruled the Italian had “no fault or negligence” in the matter, fans expressed serious disappointment over the situation.
Fans slam Jannik Sinner pledging a special request for Novak Djokovic
Since Rothenberg tweeted his opinion about Sinner’s case, Djokovic fans took center stage expressing anger over the Italian’s number-one ranking. “Djokovic should get one more week as the World No.1 Justice should prevail,” wrote a person. Has Sinner’s anti-doping tests happened in March, before his run, then he likely would have received some suspension and not be allowed to play in Indian Wells, which offered him 400 points as it aided him take Djokovic’s number one ATP rank.
Another fan echoed the previous person’s tune and said, “Of course Djokovic should have his week.” In the case of Maria Sharapova or Simona Halep, the two suffered a major bans (15 months for Sharapova and 9 months for Halep) after failing to pass the drug test, while Sinner received a slap on the wrist in comparison. Given that the ATP monitors each player and their performance closely to provide this prestigious rank, people were surprised to see Sinner’s case.
While the majority criticized Sinner, a Djokovic fan put their anguish over Djokovic being stripped of his number one rank due to Covid-19 and his take on vaccines. “The GOAT Novak Djokovic had so many weeks at number 1 robbed from him. First because of frozen rankings due to Covid, then the freaking vaccine ban and now this. Djokovic should be at 460 weeks at N°1 at least…” he mentioned.
During the pandemic, ATP started the Frozen Ranking system, which allowed players to retain points from the previous year. Since the ranking system wasn’t operated usually, it might have prevented the Serb from earning points for additional weeks. In fact, Djokovic couldn’t attend the Australian Open and the US Open due to vaccine mandates. All these points express fans’ wish to see Djokovic as the ATP number one for more week.
People believed Djokovic’s justice could only happen if Sinner’s Indian Wells points were stripped when the substance was found in his blood. “Adding this 1 week would be the most logical and fair thing to do,” said a person mentioning his support to take down 400 points from the Italian. Rothenberg’s image showed that Sinner’s official points are 8770 and Djokovic’s are 8460. Deducting those 400 points would offer Djokovic an extra week as the top tennis player.
Djokovic fans were outraged seeing how Sinner was allowed to play in Miami and Indian Wells despite his failure in the anti-doping test twice. “Woow… if that is true then Djoko should get back that week 🤷🏻♂️ He got robbed when the covid started so it wouldn’t surprise me to not count that week and give it to Sinner despite THEIR decision to take those points from him…,” said a person. The comments clearly pointed out the Tennis fraternity’s preference for Sinner.
While Djokovic fans showcased their intense love for the Serb making point on X, they also highlighted the partial nature of the tennis fraternity, showing favoritism. Even if fans’ request isn’t heard, Djokovic will have a special place in his fans’ hearts.
