Men’s Latest Tennis Update

Written by: Staff on 20th November 2013

Men's Latest Tennis Update

epa03954350 Dusan Lajovic of Serbia returns the ball to Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic during their Davis Cup final match in Belgrade, Serbia, 17 November 2013. EPA/KOCA SULEJMANOVIC |

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Since Davis Cup carried points, we would ordinarily talk about movers at this time. But Novak Djokovic couldn’t move no matter what, and Dusan Lajovic didn’t add any points, and Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek effectively repeated what they did last year — so nothing happened. There were no moves at all in the Top Fifty. The first player to move at all was Daniel Brands, #54, who moved one spot. The first big move was by Horacio Zeballos, up 8 spots to #56. Albert Montanes was our first substantial downward mover; he fell ten spots, to #64. The biggest movers in the Top Hundred were Filippo Volandri, whose title at the ATP Challenger Final gained him 20 places, to #70 (making him the week’s biggest percentage mover); Leonardo Mayer also rose 20 places, to #95.

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The Troicki Dimension

The Council for Arbitration in Sport released its decision in the case of Viktor Troicki during the year-end championships, and the case became a talking point. Most players declined to comment. Stanislas Wawrinka and David Ferrer, for example, said that they didn’t know enough about the case to comment.

Wawrinka said, “It’s tough to give an opinion when you don’t know the whole story — I just read newspaper but don’t know everything that’s happened, so I prefer not to say anything.”

The exceptions were Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who had dramatically opposing views, though both were critical (in different ways) of the state of anti-doping efforts in tennis. Separately, Andy Murray told the Guardian that Troicki and countryman Marin Cilic, who tested positive for a prohibited substance (a metabolite of nikethamide (N-ethylnicotinamide), a stimulant which is prohibited in competition) in April, were “unprofessional.”

To recap: in April, at the Monte Carlo tournament, Troicki was selected for testing and provided a urine sample. He was then asked to provide a blood sample and asked to put it off to the following day on the grounds that he wasn’t feeling well. That part of his story is uncontested; where the controversy starts is in his claim that the Doping Control Officer in charge told him that was acceptable, though he needed to write an explanation. Under the rules, it’s not: if you are summoned for anti-doping and you don’t produce the samples it’s a declined test, which is equivalent to a failed test. The DCO in question disputes Troicki’s version of events; she told the tribunal that she gave him no such assurances.

Accordingly, the ITF awarded Troicki an 18-month ban, which the CAS decision reduced to 12 months. While that sounds like a much better deal — Troicki will be eligible to compete again next July, after Wimbledon — it still ruled him out of participating in last week’s Davis Cup final, a particular goal for him. And his absence may well have cost Serbia the Cup.

Djokovic was incensed. In his version of events, the DCO lied to the tribunal and his “good friend” has been unfairly damaged by a dysfunctional system, which he says he no longer trusts.

Federer, when asked, first checked that he had the latest update, and then clearly explained why the rule was important: “The test the next day, for me, is not a test any more because of what could have happened overnight.” Federer went on to say that if anything testing needs to be stepped up in tennis; he believes he is being tested less frequently than he was formerly (which may have something to do with his recent results), and noted that in 2012, when he won three tournaments in a row including Dubai and Indian Wells, he wasn’t tested in any of the events he won.

“That’s not OK,” he said firmly. “Overall I trust the system, think very professional, think important they treat us like normal human beings, not criminals. Fine to treat badly if a criminal, but not if haven’t done anything yet and seems to me that’s the case, so I appreciate that.”

Federer also shed some light on what doping control is actually like. It’s well-known that there’s an escort who informs the player he’s been selected for doping control and who is required to stay with the player until he reaches the testing station. As Federer told it, however, “Sometimes you don’t know who that guy is. Sometimes they’re a little hesitant because you just lost a match and you look extremely angry, so they don’t dare to talk to you.” And, he said, sometimes you can’t produce the sample and the guy has to stay with you all night until you do. “It gets really complicated, but I do believe that have to give sample when requested; it doesn’t matter how bad you feel.”

It seems clear, however, that at least a few changes are needed. Djokovic is calling for the right to request an ATP witness, and something like this is probably necessary. Murray is talking about using independent testing on his own. One option that hasn’t been suggested might be for the testing authorities to divide the sample into three parts rather than two and allow the athlete to have it tested independently. What’s certain, however, is that there has been a significant loss of trust in the system on all sides.

– Wendy M. Grossman

KEYWORDS: Troicki drug case testing

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