Jannik Sinner recovered after dropping the first set to win his first match since being embroiled in a PED scandal.
The top-seeded Italian beat American Mackenzie McDonald 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday to book a spot in the second round of the U.S. Open and will face American Alex Mikkelsen on Thursday.
News that Sinner had tested positive for trace amounts of the anabolic steroid Klosterbol twice within an eight-day period in March was made public last week, and it was announced that the 23-year-old had been stripped of prize money and ranking points from the tournaments where the results first emerged.
However, Sinner was ultimately not suspended as it was determined he was not at fault.
The situation has drawn criticism from other players, including big names such as Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios.
“For sure, there will be reactions,” Sinner said in a post-match interview. “You can't control what they think or what they do. [say]Everything went like this and I was already [talked]no?
“I can’t control how the players react and if I have something to say to someone I go there personally. [that] “I'm not that kind of person. But overall it's not bad. So I'm happy about it.”
At a pre-tournament press conference, Sinner said he had fired a fitness trainer who bought an over-the-counter spray containing Clostebol in Italy, and a physiotherapist who treated the player and injected the substance into his body after using it on a cut on his finger.
The players primarily expressed dissatisfaction with the way Sinner's incident was handled.
It is believed that certain athletes are treated differently than others in the process of determining doping-related disciplinary actions.
“I'm interested to see how the fans reacted, but it was very positive,” Sinner said. “The support was great. It's like playing against the Americans, but no, it's a little different.”
“So I'm happy with how I handled that situation. It wasn't easy. So I think there were a lot of positives to take from today. Now let's see what happens in the next round.”
Sinner recovered from a tough opening set in which he made a total of 14 unforced errors and struggled to find his killer instinct.
McDonald's has won five straight games after coming off a 2-2 tie.
Over the rest of the match, Sinner committed just 15 unforced errors, including none in the third set.
