Cilic Trying To Get Failed Drug Test Overturned
Cilic Trying To Get Failed Drug Test Overturned
While Croatia began their attempt to remain in the Davis Cup’s World Group in Umag, the nation’s leading player Marin Cilic was ironically in London to present his appeal against the results of a failed anti-doping test in Munich nearly five months ago.
Cilic has not played competitively since withdrawing after the first round of Wimbledon, when he cited a knee injury. Several weeks later the Croatian media reported several weeks the 24 year-old who then stood at no.12 in the world ranking had failed the BMW Open in Munich.
Now Croatia’s Davis Cup captain Zeljko Krajan has revealed Cilic’s whereabouts while the rest of the Croatian team prepare to take on Andy Murray and Great Britain in Umag. “I am not authorized to say anything about Cilic’s situation apart from that he is in London and tomorrow he has the appeal,” said Krajan as he announced the Croatian team at Thursday’s draw.
It is believed that Cilic will tell the legal-style tribunal headed by a Queen’s Counsel High Court judge that he sent his mother out to buy a glucose supplement while playing at the Monte Carlo Open at the start of the European clay court season in mid-April.
Cilic, a Monte Carlo resident for several years, had been taking another legal glucose supplement but is expected to admit that he did not read an enclosed warning on the new supplement purchased by his mother that it also included a small amount of a substance on the athletes’ banned list. The results showed up in the Munich test taken two weeks later.
According to leading British player Murray everyone in the Wimbledon locker room knew Cilic’s Wimbledon withdrawal was down to the failed drugs test rather than a knee injury that tied in with the spate of other pull-outs in the Championships’ first few days, attributed to slippery court conditions.
Murray expressed his frustration over the damage the Cilic rumor and innuendo has done to the sport. In line with ITF policy there has been official silence which will continue until the appeal judgment is handed down.
According to ITF protocols any positive test is followed by a hearing, which is usually staged around three months later to allow both sides to prepare their cases. The idea is that, if the player is found not guilty, it should be as if the positive test has never happened, to avoid besmirching their reputation.
“I think it’s about time everyone knew what was going on,” said Murray, the third ranked Scot. “Everyone knows what’s happening and he has clearly failed a drugs test, I just don’t know why that can’t come out.
“It’s not that he’s injured. I don’t get that. Once it’s out in the open then whether the hearing took two months or four months, so long as he isn’t playing in that period – I think it’s too long for nobody to say he has failed a drugs test.”
Cilic’s unfortunate mistake is similar to that of Scottish skier Alain Baxter, who tested positive for methamphetamine during the 2002 Winter Olympics after using an American version of the Vicks inhaler – a version with different contents to the one he was used to back in Britain.
Topics: 10sballs, Andy Murray, Davis Cup, Itf, Marin Cilic, Sports, Tennis, Wimbledon
Share this article:
Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:
10sBalls Top Stories
- No Key Biscayne, No Problem; New Site, Same Great Miami Open Tennis Event
- 10SBALLS SHARES FAVORITE EPA TENNIS PHOTOS Of 2018
- THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR ANY TENNIS PLAYER & FAN
- ATP MEN’S TENNIS • WILL IT MOVE FROM LONDON TO MANCHESTER OR TOKYO OR SINGAPORE? OR TURIN?
- ALIX RAMSAY WRITES TO “TENNIS SANTA CLAUS” WITH HER WISHES • ANDY MURRAY!
- CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE JACK KRAMER CLUB – DECEMBER 15 TO 22 2018 • UTR • ORACLE • AND AN AWESOME NEW TENNIS EVENT
- 10sBalls.com Shares Alix Ramsay’s Rambling On About Tennis and The Holidays
- ROGER FEDERER JOINED BY RAFA NADAL FOR THE 2019 LAVER CUP FESTIVITIES IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- TENNIS PLAYERS’ UNION – IS IT NEEDED? BY MARK WINTERS
- Tennis News: Wilson’s Revolution Is Here – THE CLASH
- ROTTERDAM TENNIS TOURNEY DIRECTOR RICHARD KRAJICEK ANNOUNCES DAVID GOFFIN TO PLAY IN 2019 ABN AMRO
- JELENA VEMIC’S PHOTO GALLERY
- TENNIS NEWS FROM LONDON • 10SBALLS REPORTS ON THE LAWN TENNIS WRITERS HOLIDAY LUNCHEON AT WIMBLEDON’S DEBENTURE CLUB
- 10sBalls.com Shares a Great Gift For A Tennis Player – The Functional Tennis Match Journal
- BNP PARIBAS TENNIS OPEN NAMED 2018 WTA PREMIER MANDATORY TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR
In Case You Missed It
EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA
Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE
Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER
According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife
Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos