Jannik Sinner gets off to a bad start at the US Open, but wins his first match since his steroid abuse was revealed | Tennis News

After a sloppy and slow opening set, Sinner pulled away with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win over Mackie McDonald of the USA to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows.

“The response from the fans was great. Even when the news came out, there was a lot of support during the training sessions, which I am very happy and pleased about,” said Sinner. “It’s still not easy. You have to take it day by day.”

There were no visible signs or derogatory shouts in the stands about what no one knew for months: Sinner had tested positive for traces of the anabolic steroid clostebol twice within eight days in March.

None of this was made public until last week, when news broke that the 23-year-old Italian had been stripped of prize money and ranking points for the tournament where the first result appeared. However, he escaped a ban because it was ruled that he was not at fault and that the drug had entered his system inadvertently during a massage by his physiotherapist.

In his first public comments on the matter, Sinner said at a pre-tournament press conference on Friday that he had fired the fitness coach who bought an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol in Italy, as well as the physiotherapist who used the spray on a cut on his finger before treating the player and transferring the substance to his body.

During a brief on-court interview at Ashe, Sinner was not asked about the case, which has drawn criticism from other players, including Novak Djokovic, over the way it was handled and raised questions about whether certain athletes are treated differently than others when determining doping penalties.

“I can’t really control what they think and what they (say). I can’t control the players’ reaction,” Sinner said. “If I have something to say to someone, I speak privately because that’s the kind of person I am. But overall, it wasn’t bad. So I’m happy with it.”

Against McDonald, a 140th-ranked American who slipped to 4-13 in 2024, Sinner was way off the mark from the start. He double-faulted. He hit what should have been an easy smash into the net. He botched volleys. In total, he made 14 unforced errors in the first set, helping McDonald to five games in a row at 2-2 to win the set and earn a break in the second.

“I hit him a lot of balls. I served really well too. I defended really well,” said McDonald, who beat Rafael Nadal at the 2023 Australian Open. “My level just dropped, which is disappointing. I feel like I can play really good tennis, which I did for a while. But to do that for a long period of time against a guy like that was too hard for me.”

Sinner quickly turned things around in the second set, making just 15 unforced errors in the final three sets, including zero in the third. He will next face another American, Alex Michelsen.

The way Sinner has improved his game is what everyone is used to seeing from him, especially on hard courts like those in New York. He improved his record on that surface to 29-2 this season and won four titles, including his first Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open in January.

“He puts pressure on you all the time,” McDonald said. “The ball comes back so fast, over and over again.”