“Failing two doping tests isn't stupid?” - Fans react to Roger Federer's agent praising Jannik Sinner for conduct on and off the court

Tennis fans reacted to Roger Federer's agent Tony Godsick praising Jannik Sinner for his behavior both on and off the court. Sinner successfully defended his title at the Australian Open by defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the final.

The Italian thus took his winning streak to 21 matches and clinched his third consecutive Grand Slam on hard courts.

Recently, Roger Federer's agent Tony Godsick was all praises for Jannik Sinner. He drew parallels between the 23-year-old and the Swiss and said that the Italian reminds him of of the 20-time Grand Slam champion as he is "very professional," behaves well on the court and does not do "stupid things" off the court.

“He is serious, very professional, behaves well on court & does not do stupid things off it… in this he reminds me of Roger. At the moment as a global star he cannot replace Federer or Nadal. But he is loved by the people, he plays a type of tennis that I like a lot and he knows how to give his best in the moments that matter,” Tony Godsick said (via La Stampa, translated from Italian).

Godsick expressed his belief that Jannik Sinner is on the right trajectory to potentially be a "legend" akin to Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.

“I don’t know if he can become a legend like Roger or Rafa, but he is on the right path… he is serious, very professional, he behaves well on the court and does not do stupid things off it… in this he reminds me of Roger,” he added.

However, these comments from Tony Godsick irked several tennis fans, who took to social media to voice their dissent .

One fan pointed out that Godsick's praise of Jannik Sinner's off-court behavior seemed misplaced, citing Sinner failing two doping tests in 2024 after testing positive for a banned substance, clostebol.

““Does not do stupid things”?! Failing two doping tests due to a contaminated pinky via a series of Benny Hill like goof ups isn’t stupid?” a fan posted.

Another fan expressed skepticism about Jannik Sinner's ability to garner the same level of love from the public as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

“I’m not sure the public will ever love an Italian the way they’d love, say, a Swiss or Spanish Star," a fan wrote.

“[Jannik] Sinner’s got the discipline and game to shine but reaching Federer’s or Nadal’s level demands more than just consistency. He’s exciting to watch and handles pressure well yet global stardom needs charisma too. If he keeps improving mentally and physically the sky’s the limit. For now though we wait on the CAS ruling to see if it impacts his journey," a fan posted.

“Very professional? Behaves well? The only thing #Sinner has been serious about is the covering of his doping. He’s so far a questionable individual inside the ATP top 10," a fan wrote.

Here are some other fan reactions:

“What a sad joke," a fan posted.

“Roger, Rafa nor Novak were ever dopers," a fan wrote.

“Loved by the people? What people other than Italians?" a fan posted.

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A look into how Jannik Sinner won his third Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open

Jannik Sinner with the 2025 Australian Open Men's singles trophy [Image Source: Getty Images]

Jannik Sinner won his first Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open by triumphing over Daniil Medvedev in the final. This year, in 2025, he began his title defense at the Melbourne Major by defeating Nicolas Jarry 7-6(2), 7-6(5), 6-1 and wild card Tristan Schoolkate 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in the first and second rounds, respectively.

In the third round, Sinner delivered a commanding performance against Marcos Giron, winning with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 and he then registered a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over 13th seed Holger Rune in the fourth round.

In the quarterfinals, Jannik Sinner outclassed the eighth seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 and triumphed over 21st seed Ben Shelton in the semifinals with a score of 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-2 to secure his place in the final where he emerged victorious over Alexander Zverev to win the title.