Jannik Sinner says he is not dwelling on the controversy surrounding last year’s doping violations after winning consecutive Australian Open titles.

The world number one defended his title at Melbourne Park with a clinical 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory over second seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday evening.

The result gives Sinner a perfect 3-0 win-loss record in major finals.

Only days before the Australian Open began, Sinner learned the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had scheduled a hearing on April 16 and 17 regarding the positive doping tests he returned last March.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had ruled Sinner should bear “no fault or negligence” after twice testing positive for the prohibited substance clostebol.

But the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced in September it had lodged an appeal to CAS, claiming the ITIA’s finding was “not correct under the applicable rules”.

WADA is seeking a suspension of between one and two years.

Sinner said the upcoming CAS hearing — which will be conducted behind closed doors — had not provided him with additional motivation in Melbourne.

“I keep playing like this because I have a clear mind on what happened,” he told his post-match media conference.

“If I know if I would be guilty, I would not play like this and that’s it.

“At the moment I’m not thinking about this. Of course, you have your moments on certain days where you feel like, ‘I wish I would not have this problem’.

“In the other way, I’m always looking forward to going on court, trying to understand.”

Sinner said he wanted to savour the feeling of winning consecutive Australian Opens.

“I just came off an amazing run again here,” he said.

“I want to enjoy this moment, to be honest.

“Then it’s the (CAS) hearing. We know now the dates and that’s it. I want to enjoy this one now.”

Sinner trying to focus on tennis

The ITIA decision in August sparked significant debate, with many suggesting double standards were applied due to Sinner’s high profile in the game.

Nick Kyrgios labelled the ruling “ridiculous” and has refused to back down from his criticism.

Sinner said he was doing his best to avoid being distracted by the furore.

“It’s actually tough to describe,” he said.

“Many, many things happen off the court, what you maybe don’t know.

“When I go on the court — even if sometimes it’s very difficult to block these kind of things — I have the team and people who are close to me who trust me.

“That for me is even more important because I can talk with them, very openly with them. That’s it.

“When I go on court, I try to focus on the match. I know the match can be three, four, five hours, but that’s the gap of the day where I have to be very focused.”

Sinner added: “It’s [CAS hearing] still a little bit in the back of your mind. I know that I’m in this position now. So [there is] nothing I can change.”

The Australian Open victory makes the 23-year-old the first Italian player to win three major singles titles.