Deadline approaching for appeals in case that exonerated US Open champion Jannik Sinner from doping

Jannik Sinner tested positive twice for an anabolic steroid in March but was not suspended because the ITIA determined the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist.

Sinner said his test results happened because his fitness trainer purchased an over-the-counter spray called Trofodermin in Italy that contained Clostebol .

The ITIA said it accepted Sinner ’s explanation, after 10 interviews with the player and his entourage, and the independent panel agreed.

In addition, Giovanni Fontana , an Italian lawyer who has worked on about 100 doping cases over 30 years , recently told The Associated Press that Sinner 's two trainers could risk a separate inquiry in Italy — pointing to the four-year suspension for a club doctor at an Italian soccer team in 2018 for administering Trofodermin to a player. ___ Dunbar reported from Geneva . AP National Writer Eddie Pells in Denver and AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich in New York contributed. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis.