Is Cilic Serving A Short “Silent” Ban?

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 31st July 2013

Is Cilic Serving A Short “Silent” Ban?

epa03757884 Marin Cilic of Croatia returns to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during their first round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 24 June 2013. EPA/KERIM OKTEN |

With rumors swirling about the current absence of Marin Cilic from ATP summer play, the Croatia’s former longtime coach Bob Brett has possibly shed some light on the murky anti-doping situation to London’s Guardian.

Reports circulated last week after the No. 15 did not play in the home Umag ATP event after making a mysterious pullout from Wimbledon with what was described as an injury.

Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija reported that Cilic failed a routine anti-doping test at Munich’s BMW Open in April, learned of the distressing findings during Wimbledon and pulled out of his second round match a with a sudden knee injury. The tabloid said that a positive Cilic test was due to “incautious use of glucose”.

Australian Brett, nearly a decade with Cilic, told the Guardian that a member of the player’s entourage bought some supplements over the counter in Munich without either he or Cilic reading the warning of banned substance glucose on the label. Brett based his observations on a telephone chat with his former pupil whom he coached until last May.

“He said he had tested positive,” Brett told the paper. “The one thing I found out was that he tested positive for high glucose and Marin had co-operated with the organization (International Tennis Federation) about the product and the pharmacy. One of the people in his team bought it in a pharmacy. Some people will say he made a mistake. But it was carelessness.”

There will be no comment form the ITF until any verdict might be rendered in the case. there has been speculation that Cilic is serving a short “silent” ban for his carelessness.

“They (players) believe that everything is going to be OK. In a sense they are naive to the risk. The player hopes it’s OK and it’s not. They are then tarnished, sponsors are reluctant to sign them to contracts and promote their products.”