00:00A big confidence boost. It was a very difficult tournament. Obviously I'm very happy about
00:10the result. It was a great moment to share this with the people. Hopefully it's a good
00:16confidence boost for here, which is the last Grand Slam of the year, so let's see what's
00:21coming.
00:22I'm just wondering, given the news that's come out this week, how will you balance all
00:38this? You've got a tournament to play and obviously a lot of news away from the court.
00:43Of course it's not ideal before a Grand Slam, but in my mind I know that I haven't done
00:52anything wrong. I had to play already months with this in my head, but just remembering
01:00myself that I haven't done really anything wrong. I always respected these rules and
01:07I always will respect these rules of anti-doping. It's just obviously a relief for myself having
01:17this result. It's just good to be back here. It's an amazing city, an amazing place to
01:24play tennis. I'm just trying to enjoy as much as I can and hopefully having a good tournament.
01:34We won't be entertaining any more questions on that subject. If you have a question about
01:38another subject, you can ask the question, but he's already given his statement.
01:44Can I ask a question?
01:46You can ask the question.
01:47Yannick, this is coming out as the US Open is yawning ahead of you. Do you kind of wish
01:53that this news had come out earlier and not put it on you right now? Do you regret waiting
02:00so long for this whole story to come out?
02:03It has been a very long process. I had to deal with this already for months. I think
02:13we all know for how long I'm talking about. Obviously I had to take now some decisions
02:23in base of the outcome. There are some dates you have to respect throughout this whole
02:32process so you can't really choose when it comes out and when it doesn't come out. In
02:39my mind, as I said before, I'm just happy that it's finally out because it's one kind
02:47of relief also for me and my team which is still here. Obviously because of that the
02:56preparation for this tournament has not been perfect because of certain circumstances,
03:04but it's out. It's something what I was waiting for, waiting for the result. So now it's out
03:14and that's it.
03:17Howard?
03:18I'm Howard Fendrich for the Associated Press. You just mentioned making some decisions.
03:27Could you tell us what those are and are Umberto and Giacomo no longer working with you?
03:34Yeah. First I want to start with that they have been a huge part for my career. We worked
03:41together for two years. We made an incredible job, bringing a lot of success and then having
03:46a great team behind me. Now because of these mistakes I'm not feeling that confident to
03:56continue with them. The only thing I just need right now is some clean air. I was struggling
04:04a lot in the last months. Now I was waiting for the result and now I just need some clean
04:10air.
04:11David?
04:12David Kane, Tennis.com. It's hard to keep a secret in tennis. Were you concerned that
04:16this would come out before you were ready for it to come out?
04:20Yeah. Look, the outcome of the result was Monday. It was a longer process. It started
04:31with obviously this mistake, what they made. But I was always concerned that it might come
04:41out at some point. In the beginning it was a different view but then after it was a little
04:46bit more complicated. I went through, me and my team and the lawyers, I'm just a simple
04:55tennis player and that's what I love to do. But this is also part of the rules of anti-doping
05:05and VAR and ITAA. So I was happy to collaborate obviously and getting the best result possible
05:12knowing my innocence of this whole case. So as I said, now it's finally out. It is what
05:18it is.
05:19Matt?
05:20Jannik, there are other players, Matt Futterman from the Athletic, there are other players
05:26who have gone through these experiences where they've made a mistake and have gotten a big
05:33penalty because those are just the rules. Even though you knew you hadn't done anything
05:40wrong, how worried were you that just because of the complicated process and the complicated
05:47rules that you might get a larger penalty just for making a mistake because it has happened?
05:55Yeah, the thing is very simple in one way. When they informed us that I was tested positive,
06:06the first thing we were trying to figure out what substance it was because Umberto is the
06:15guy who knows really, really well this whole process and whatever is in nutrition and he
06:23has a very high degree of pharmacy and everything. So we asked him, he knew it straight away
06:30that it was his spray and knowing because of that was the spray and knowing also how
06:40it all ended up into my system, we went straight back to them and we explained everything,
06:49how it happened and that was the reason why I had the chance to keep playing. Obviously
06:55then after in the background while I was playing we had to figure out what would happen then
07:01in the future but the reason why I could have played was because we knew where the substance
07:08was in and how it came into my body. So this is very important, making this process, letting
07:17them know and they understood it straight away. They believed in me and in us and that's
07:24why I could have played.
07:26So you weren't that worried?
07:29Of course I was worried because it was the first time for me and hopefully the last time
07:33that I'm in this situation, position. There are also a different part we have to see is
07:40the amount I had in my body which is 0.00000001. So there are a lot of zeros before coming
07:52up a one. So I was worried of course because I'm always the player who was working very
08:01very carefully in this. I believe I'm a fair player on and off the court and yeah that's
08:10a bit how it all was and how it went.
08:13Two more, Brian, Willie.
08:20Just your ranking alone is obviously going to put a target on your back but I'm curious
08:25if you feel that not having been suspended, despite some other players in the past having
08:32been suspended for what they say were accidental mishaps, would put an even bigger target on
08:37your back than you might otherwise have had?
08:41Every player who gets tested positive has to go through the same process. There is no
08:47shortcut, there is no different treatment. They're all the same process. Why I kept playing,
08:54I just explained now. That's all I have to say. I know sometimes the frustration of other
09:03players obviously, but maybe because they got suspended they didn't know exactly where
09:09it comes from, also what substance, but the main reason is where it comes from and how
09:15it entered in his own system. We knew it straight away and we were aware of what happened. We
09:23went straight away and I was suspended for two or three days. I couldn't practice and
09:29everything but they accepted it very, very fast and that's why.
09:33Willie, last question.
09:35What concerns do you have about your reputation?
09:39That's a good question. For me, I always believe that I kept playing tennis because in my mind
09:50I knew that I haven't done anything wrong. I knew that I was very clean and I knew that
09:56I was always very looking forward to being a fair player. Obviously, it's coming out,
10:03this notification, it might change a couple of things, but whoever knows me very well
10:13knows that I haven't done and I would never do something that goes against the rules.
10:19Obviously, it has been a very tough moment for me and my team. It still is because it's
10:25quite fresh, this everything. Here I also know who is my friend and who is not my friend
10:37because my friends know that I would never do that. Sticking together and about the reputation
10:44we will see now moving forward. I can't really control it, so let's see.
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