Cilic Gets Nine Month Suspension

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 17th September 2013

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

Cilic Gets Nine Month Suspension

epa03720191 Philipp Petzschner of Germany in action during his 1st round match against Marin Cilic of Croatia at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2013. EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG |

After months of conjecture and assumption that Marin Cilic had fallen foul of the drug testers, official news has finally been announced by the International Tennis Federation that the Croatian former top ten player has been handed him a nine-month suspension for a positive dope test that proved he used a banned substance.

Cilic took the substance, a stimulant called nikethamide, during the Rolex Monte Carlo Open in May. He tested positive a couple of weeks later at the BMW Open in Munich and has not played since the first round of Wimbledon in late June. The ban has been backdated to May 1 and will run until the end of January, meaning he will miss the Australian Open.

The case was heard in London over the weekend and the 24 year-old plans to appeal against the decision “very shortly” via the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He said: “I wish to emphasize that I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any banned substances in my life and that I am opposed to any use of performance-enhancing substances in sport.

“I am frustrated that I cannot talk more about the case at this time. But I will do so as soon as the legal process is over.”

The player remains insistent he took the substance inadvertently. Cilic ingested the nikethamide because he used a packet of Coramine glucose tablets, which had been using regularly in a form that did not contravene the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) code.

His supply ran out when he was staying in his home apartment in Monte Carlo while playing the tournament in March. The story goes that he sent his mother down to the pharmacy to buy another packet, but did not realize that the French version of the product contained different chemicals. He acknowledged there was a warning notice in the packaging, but he neglected to read it.

When making its decision, the ITF maintained it accepted the player’s contention that he ingested the substance inadvertently in glucose tablets and was not trying to cheat. As a result, Cilic was given a reduced penalty rather than the maximum ban for the offence of up to two years.

Nikethamide is a stimulant, used mainly to treat overdoses of sedatives. It enhances aspects of respiration and the amount of oxygen attached to hemoglobin, improving the delivery to muscles.

However Nikethamide is not known to have any masking properties. Therefore Cilic could not be accused of possibly using steroids or human growth hormone, which is the main area of concern for the tennis anti-doping authorities.

During Wimbledon, Cilic claimed to be suffering have a knee injury as he withdrew from his second-round match against Kenny De Schepper. He has not played competitively since and missed the US Open.

Cilic will lose all his results, ranking points and prize money since the Munich tournament. This includes a pay check for € 49140 ($US 65,662) awarded to him as runner-up finish at the Aegon Championship’s, played on the grass of London’s Queen’s Club.

Topics: 10sballs.com, BMW Open, Marin Cilic, Rolex Monte Carlo Open, Tennis, Tennis News