Jannik Sinner's three-month suspension, which the Italian tennis player accepted so that WADA dropped their appeal for a retrial that could have resulted in up to two years banned, hasn't sit well with many tennis players, who are since Saturday voicing their concerns about favouritism.
Professional Tennis Players Associating (PTPA), an association founded by Vasek Pospisil and Novak Djokovic in 2019, as an alternative to Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) devoted solely to players, published a statement saying that "the 'system' is not a system, it's a club", a cover for "tailored deals, unfair treatment and inconsistent rulings", saying there is a bias that shows a "deep disrespect for every sport ant its fans".
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His union is completely against the decision. But what about Djokovic personally? On Monday, in the press conference after the victory in doubles with Fernando Verdasco in the Doha Open (6-1, 6-1 to Khachanov and Bublik), the Serbian said that "most players do not feel it has been fair, they think there has been favouritism, that you can affect the process if you are a top player.", as read in AS.
"There is a consensus or majority of players who speak in the locker room, not only in the last few days, who are not happy with the way this process has been handled". Djokovic doesn't put into question the presumption of innocence of Sinner, as well as Iga Swiatek, who was also involved in a similar case last year, and received a smaller ban. But "we have to choose, inconsistency is something that frustrates players. If you are going to deal with each case individually, there is no transparency, some are transparent and some are not. He gave proof of his innocence, but the rule says it has to be in a reasonable time.".
In short, Djokovic thinks that if Sinner's case (World No. 1 tennis player, and wealthy enough to pay the best lawyers in the sport) was given a special treatment, it shouldn't be an exception.