Jannik Sinner will launch his Australian Open title defence under a stubborn doping cloud but the whiff of scandal may do little to halt the Italian juggernaut. Sinner remains the man to beat at Melbourne Park even as doping officials seek a two-year ban for the world number one for failing two drugs tests last March.

Novak Djokovic has claimed that he was ‘poisoned’ by the food that he consumed at a Melbourne hotel during his detention ahead of his deportation from Australia in 2022. The tennis star said his body had ‘high level of lead and mercury’ after eating at the hotel.

Novak Djokovic had his visa cancelled and was deported out of the country on the eve of the Australian Open in 2022 over his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid.