Sara Errani Breaks With Her Doctor

Written by: Staff on 7th September 2012

Sara Errani Breaks With Her Doctor

epa03384821 Sara Errani of Italy serves to Roberta Vinci of Italy during their quarterfinals match on the tenth day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 05 September 2012. The US Open runs through Sunday 09 September 2012. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH |

US Open semi-finalist Sara Errani has had her joy at reaching the last four in New York tainted by continued connections between the 25 year-old Italian and the Luis Garcia del Moral, the doctor who received a lifetime ban from United States Anti Doping Agency after his work with Lance Armstrong’s US Postal cycling team.

Errani, who today faces Wimbledon and Olympic champion Serena Williams and bids for her second Grand Slam final place of the year after losing to Maria Sharapova at the French Open, does not deny consulting Garcia del Moral.

There is no suggestion that Errani used banned substances prescribed or administered by Garcia del Moral but the International Tennis Federation, adhering to the USADA decision, banned Garcia del Moral from all tennis involvement and will no longer allow players to consult the Spaniard.

Former world no.1 Dinara Safina, in apparent retirement after having not played since October last year, is another leading player known to have consulted Garcia del Moral while he was linked to the TenisVal Academy where US Open men’s semi-finalist David Ferrer worked.

Errani was insistent she had not been warned not to have any future connection with Garcia del Moral and said: “I speak with the ITF and they didn’t tell me that I cannot go anymore to him.

“They told me that I can go if I want, but of course I’m not interested in working with one person that is involved in these things.

“Of course, I will not work anymore with him. He was the best doctor in Valencia for everything, so I have been working with him. But now his name is not good name, so I don’t want to dirty my name for his name.”

An ITF statement released on August 8 read, in the light of the Armstrong situation, said in part, that “the stakeholders to the Tennis Anti-Doping Program recognize and respect USADA’s decision and will take all steps available to them to enforce and give effect to that decision in the sport of tennis, including (without limitation) not permitting Dr Garcia del Moral to participate in any capacity in and denying him accreditation for or access to, any sanctioned tennis event or activity. Players are asked to take careful note of the above when considering who to seek treatment, guidance and advice from in the future.”

Errani confirmed there had been dealings with Garcia del Moral since the news about him and Armstrong emerged.

“No, nothing contact with him,” she said. “I don’t know what he was doing. I just think about my life. And I make all the anti-doping control like everybody, so I don’t feel about that. It’s sad that one person can make this, but of course I think about me, and everybody can decide about his life. All the people can decide what to do, so of course I decide what to do.”

Errani admitted she now runs the risk of suspicion from both fellow competitors and administrators as well as fans. “Of course, it’s not a good thing for me,” she said, insisting there was no need for her to hide.

“It’s not the thing that maybe when you won, the people start to talk something bad. I think it happen like always — when you won, the people start to think bad. But if you are good with yourself, I think it’s the most important thing, to have a good life. You know what you are doing, you know what you are working.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Dinara Safina, Luis Garcia del Moral, Sara Errani, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis News, US Open 2012, \