Junior Star Comments On Drug Investigation At All Levels

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 5th August 2013

Junior Star Comments On Drug Investigation At All Levels |

At the age of 17, Wimbledon boy’s champion Gianluigi Quinzi has much to learn about the tennis world. But the young Italian who has now shoulders the responsibility of following in the footsteps of luminaries such as Roger Federer, Stefan Edberg and Ivan Lendl, still feels sufficiently knowledgeable to comment on the controversial subject of drugs in tennis and mention some of the sport’s leading names.

In the wake of drug cases involving the International Tennis Federation banning Viktor Troicki and being expected to do the same with Marin Cilic, Quinzi, decided to speak out in an interview with television company Mediaset that was widely reported by the revered Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

“Doping in tennis?” responded the youngster from Cittadella in Padua who now sits on top of the ITF junior world rankings.

“When you see players such as Djokovic play five long sets and then walk back onto the court the next day and play with the same intensity as the day before, it’s difficult to not think the worst. I’m not saying that Nole, or certain other tennis stars, make use of doping. I don’t know. But you do start to question things when you see certain recoveries.”

Djokovic was not the only leading player to earn a mention in the Quinzi diatribe. “Just look at [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer,” continued the Italian. “I never see them getting caught, while some 30 or 40 around the world are. I believe that on the tennis circuit everyone has to be treated in the same way when it comes to doping.

“Even if your name is Nadal or Federer. If they have to pull them up (investigate them), then they have to pull them up. It’s not as if it would be the end of tennis were they to be pulled up. I don’t know whether they or anyone else make use of doping, but in my opinion everyone has to be treated the same way.”

As Quinzi is only ranked world no.384, it is unlikely that he will encounter the likes of Djokovic, Federer or Nadal across the net in the near future but the ITF, that has suffered criticism in recent weeks for the paucity of its anti-doping program from the French Senate among others, are likely to request Quinzi to explain his outburst.