The news broke in August that Sinner was found to have had traces of clostebol in his system, after he returned two positive tests, one at the Indian Wells Masters in March and another two days later.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) cleared Sinner of any negligence of or wrongdoing, and was allowed to continue competing.

Shapovalov did not agree with this decision and he has since felt the wrath of Sinner’s compatriots, his adoring Italian fans.

Denis Shapovalov complained of preferential treatment after claiming other players have received bans for doping while Sinner was not given a suspension.

Italian fans jumped to Sinner’s defence and criticised the former World number 10 for his comments.

But in a roundtable interview with UTS Tour released on Friday, the 25-year-old clarified his comments, saying his words were aimed at the inconsistencies of the situation rather than the player himself.

“That was the thing with me and Italian fans now, there were so many Italian fans after me,” Shapovalov said. “I made a comment about the Sinner case but I didn’t comment about Sinner. To me it had nothing to do with Sinner.

“It was the principle that a guy like Jarry was banned for three years or whatever it was and other guys are playing. Where is the fine lining? It should be consistent and the same for all the players. It had literally nothing to do with Sinner.

“I expressed how I am not WADA. I’m not here to decide whether he should be banned or not but so many Italian fans started losing it. It was insane.”

How does Dennis Shapovalov think the Jannik Sinner case should have been handled?

After he had been cleared, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reopened Sinner’s case and appealed the decision. Should he be found guilty of any wrongdoing, Sinner could be banned for “between one and two years”.

In an interview with Tennis Majors back in October, Shapovalov explained how he thinks Sinner’s case should have been dealt with.

“Some players have contaminated substances and are sanctioned for years, while others do not face the same consequences. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) should have intervened immediately,” Shapovalov said.

“They should have issued a warning after the first positive test like WADA. Why are they intervening now? Sinner is now being tormented and has to compete under these circumstances.

“If the key individuals decided he is clean, then that should be in WADA’s guidelines. WADA should not be able to say months later, ‘No, we want to annul it now,’ if they already had the information. It’s just not clear to the players.”

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