World number one Jannik Sinner says he did his best to roll with the punches and prevent his ongoing doping controversy from affecting his performances after he beat Novak Djokovic 7-6(7/4), 6-3 to claim the Shanghai Masters crown.
In August, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Sinner had failed two drug tests in March but had been cleared of wrongdoing by an independent tribunal.
The tribunal accepted the Italian's explanation that the anabolic agent clostebol entered his system through massages and sports therapy from a member of his support team.
But last month, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it would appeal against the independent tribunal's decision and was seeking a period of ineligibility of up to two years for Sinner.
WADA's announcement came days before Sinner was beaten by rival Carlos Alcaraz in the China Open final, with the US and Australian Open champion admitting he was in an uncomfortable situation ahead of his Shanghai Masters campaign.
"This year has been very, very tough for me because of other circumstances, and at points I lost a bit of my smile because I had some issues off the court, and they're still in my mind sometimes," Sinner said after his win in the final.
"People think that by winning or having success you don't have any problems, but it's not true, because I'm in the situation where I'm in. Obviously, it's not comfortable, and I wish I would not be in this position where I am right now off the court.
"But you have to accept it. I feel like I'm strong when I go on the court, trying to not think about it and trying to stay focused on everything I do and give a 100 per cent in every single match or practice."
Djokovic was aiming to become just the third man, after Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors, to win 100 top-level titles but instead he remained on 99, with his gold medal from the Paris Olympics still his only addition to his trophy cabinet in 2024.
If Djokovic does not win another final this year it will be the 37-year-old's first season since 2005 without multiple trophies.
Meanwhile, Sinner's win over the 24-time grand slam champion took his trophy count for the year up to seven, including two majors, three ATP Masters 1000 titles and wins in Rotterdam and Halle.
This season has been the 23-year-old's most successful on tour.
When asked what had changed in the past year, Sinner said: "I feel that physically I'm ready to play for a longer amount of time at the highest level possible.
"Also mentally I'm ready to accept every tough situation on the court, and I think that's the biggest step I made forward … [I'm] trying to be mature enough to understand what's working, and I feel like that for me made a big impact this year.
"Hopefully it's going to help me also for the next year."
Djokovic jumped three places in the race to reach the year-end ATP Tour finals, pushing Australian number one Alex de Minaur down to ninth.
The top eight qualify for the November 10-17 tournament.
Reuters/ABC
