Novak Djokovic may be on the cusp of an all-time great tennis season, but he is not doing so without notable controversy.
The Serb was fuming at being asked to undergo a dope test ahead of his Davis Cup match against Britain’s Cameron Norrie, and highlighted that it was unusual for him to be tested just 90 minutes before the tie. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), however, maintained that this was standard practice at a team competition.
Djokovic made his anger known after routinely dispatching Norrie 6-4, 6-4 against a partisan crowd in the Spanish city of Malaga. “I didn’t believe that they could make such a decision, in 20 and more years of my career, it never happened to me that an hour-and-a-half before the match, I needed to go for doping control,” he was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
“I have my own routine — I don’t need that distraction, to have my urine and blood taken, to think about whether I can give urine at that moment.” The Serb further added that he is happy to be dope tested “a hundred times” but only after the match.
Djokovic had already been in a combative mood after battling noisy British fans in the quarterfinal tie, accusing them of disrupting his rhythm on purpose and being disrespectful.
“That’s disrespect but that’s something you have to be prepared for in a Davis Cup,” he had said after the tie. “I mean, they can do whatever they want but I’m going to respond to that. They were trying to annoy me the entire match, so yeah, we had a little bit of a chat in the end.”
What do the rules say?
On the ITIA’s website, there is no mention of any rules that state doping controls have to take place only after a match. In fact, while outlining the testing procedure, the website states that: “Athletes can be tested any time, any place. Testing can take place in-competition at events, or out-of-competition, in training venues, or even at an athlete’s home.”
Clarifying the row with Djokovic, ITIA maintained that he was not singled out and that the entire team was subject to testing as per regular protocol.
“Due to the format of team competitions, including the Davis Cup, teams may be notified that they have been selected for testing before matches begin and then provide samples when they are ready,” an ITIA spokesperson told AFP. “Between notification and providing the sample, they are chaperoned by a member of the anti-doping team.”
According to Spanish news publication Marca, who first reported on the controversy, each of the team captains were informed a week prior to the start of the Davis Cup finals that World Agency staff can arrive unannounced to undergo surprise tests during the course of the tournament. The practice is usual for ITF competitions, as opposed to ATP or Grand Slam tournaments.