Novak Djokovic's take on the doping controversy surrounding Jannik Sinner has sparked mixed reactions from fans. While addressing the Italian's positive test result and subsequent clearing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, the Serb emphasized the importance of the players association he co-founded in 2019. The 24-time Major champion claimed that a rapid resolution seen in Sinner's case is often amiss for lower-ranked players in similar situations.Sinner has fired his physio and trainer owing to their roles in his accidental exposure to the banned substance clostebol during his run to the semifinals of the 2024 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.During a recent press conference, Djokovic said that he co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) in 2019 with Canada's Vasek Pospisil for cases like Sinner's, advocating "fair and clear protocols". The reigning US Open champion said that lower-ranked players in similar situations may not be able to afford quality legal representation."As far as Jannik's case is concerned, as I said, these kind of instances are the very reason we founded PTPA that is always advocating for fair protocols, clear protocols for standardized approaches to these kind of cases," Djokovic said."Many players, without naming any of them, I'm sure you know already who these players are, have had similar or same, pretty much the same cases, where they haven't had the same outcome, and now the question is whether it is a case of the funds, whether a player can afford to pay a significant amount of money for a law firm that would then more efficiently represent his or her case."The World No. 2's take did not resonate with everyone. Several fans criticized Djokovic replying to a post on X sharing his comments, suggesting that the Serb himself is not thoroughly aware of the ITIA's doping regulations."What a disappointment. Not even Novak is well aware of the ITIA doping regulation, no wonder why the other players are clueless. If he had checked it, he would have verified that for Sinner the correct procedure was followed," one said."Word salad. Identify the hypocrisy and state it," another said."He sounds like a politician," a third fan said.However, many others felt that what Djokovic said made sense."Perfect response," a fan said."His answer is perfection! Why every player is not already signed up for the PTPA, I'll never understand," another said."Like Novak or not… he is by far the smartest player to step on the court. He is brilliant… extremely high IQ and EQ which helps him for sure be the best on court. Nobody can touch this man’s intellect," yet another said.Sinner did receive a provisional suspension for the clostebol contamination, but it lasted just a few days before it was overturned following an appeal from the Italian.Novak Djokovic could have reclaimed World No. 1 spot temporarily ahead of US Open 2024Novak Djokovic (Source: Getty)Perhaps the most signifcant punishment Jannik Sinner received was the deduction of the 400 ranking points he had accumulated during his Indian Wells campaign this year, along with the loss of the entire prize money he had won from it.If the deduction had been upheld by the ATP retroactively after Sinner's ban was overturned, Novak Djokovic would have gained an additional week as World No. 1 and taken his tally to a record-extending 429 weeks as the world's top-ranked men's singles tennis player. However, the ATP ultimately ruled against a retroactive deduction of points for the Italian, as reported by Ben Rothenberg.Djokovic is set to start his US Open title defense in New York against Moldovan Radu Albot on Monday, August 26, while Sinner will start his campaign on Tuesday, August 27, against home favorite Mackenzie McDonald.