"Has tried to cheat the process": Nick Kyrgios says he won't shut up about doping cases, doubles down on Jannik Sinner criticism

Nick Kyrgios will return to the sport next week when he plays at the Brisbane International. He opens up against the terrific French talent, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and will then play with Novak Djokovic in doubles also in all-star tandem. But while he has spent 18 months away from the sport, he has found the spotlight as of late easy to cultivate with the issue of doping being prevalent and Kyrgios being very outspoken on it.

Kyrgios who played alongside Simona Halep who was caught up in her own travails as well as facing Iga Swiatek's team in the World Tennis League last week in particular has gone for Jannik Sinner and whipped up a frenzy over a potential match between the pair. He has warned as per WA Today ahead of Brisbane that he won't shut up about the issue and he doubled down on calling him a cheat.

He was asked also about Max Purcell and said that he reported his own breach so isn't in the same boat compared to Sinner and Swiatek. The former tested positive for the substance Clostebol found in a spray which was administered through a massage which saw Sinner according to the ITIA bare no fault or negligence.

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But he will go to CAS and could face a ban from the sport as they appealed the verdict. There is no such process yet for Iga Swiatek who accepted a one month ban which was served between the Asian swing which she missed and prior to the Australian Open.

“OK, [Sinner is] No.1 in the world, he is an amazing tennis player. I never said he’s not. I just think the treatment has to be fair for everyone,” Kyrgios said.

“I think that it’s been handled horrifically in our sport. Two world No.1s both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport – it’s a horrible look. The tennis integrity right now, and everyone knows it, but no one wants to speak about it – it’s awful.

Jannik Sinner (pictured) has faced the wrath of Nick Kyrgios in the past two months.

“It’s actually awful, and it’s not OK. I know that people don’t like when I just speak out about things, be honest about things ... I can get emotional, I can throw a racquet, but that’s nothing compared to cheating and taking performance-enhancing drugs.

“That’s ridiculous, in my opinion. I would never in my entire life ever try and dope in this sport. Going through an injury like I went through, obviously there are things out there that could speed up healing, help me get back to prime level, help my recovery … [but] that’s just not who I am. I’m always against that.

“So, when people are saying that I’m disrespectful to the sport; I think someone like that [Sinner] who has tried to cheat the process, and actually not done it completely on their own merit, is the disrespectful one, in my opinion.

“I have to be outspoken about it because I don’t think there are enough people who are speaking about it. I think people are trying to sweep it under the rug.”

Finds Sinner keeping team for months after incident strange

He said that he pays people in his team to be professional and he doesn't get why Sinner also kept the same team for months after it happened when he should have got rid straight away.

“I employ my team hundreds and thousands of dollars to be the professionals they are; to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said.

“Why did they wait five to six months [through the investigation] to do anything about it? He kept his team for five months … like, if they knew about it two weeks after, why did you keep the same team?

“I’d be livid … [but] he had the guy on his team for five months, acting like nothing happened. That’s suss as anything, if you ask me.”

On his comeback, he said that he isn't sure what will happen as he said he won't be back to 100% ever really and that it will be about managing it day-to-day and trying to get the best out of it.

“I’m just not going to take anything for granted,” Kyrgios said.

“I’m going to go out there and play. It’s literally going to be a day-by-day symptomatic injury moving forward. If I play a long match, jam it the right way, who knows how it’s going to pull up the next day? That’s the type of injury it is.

“I enjoy still being around tennis. I obviously commentate, and I’m going to be commentating for a long time. I didn’t have to put myself back in this position of the preparation, the training, the competing, dealing with all the media scrutiny, going out there and putting myself basically in the pressure cooker again.

“I still think I enjoy parts of the sport. That’s why I tried to go through the process, the hard process, of getting back.”

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