The fifth day of the Australian Open was pretty much ho hum. It was relatively routine and many of the matches were actually quite boring but late in the afternoon things took a turn. Novak Djokovic was questioned...
The fifth day of the Australian Open was pretty much ho hum. It was relatively routine and many of the matches were actually quite boring but late in the afternoon things took a turn. Novak Djokovic was questioned about the interview with Oprah Winfrey that Lance Armstrong gave on American television.
Tennis took a back seat as the world No.1 did not mince his words. He definitely did not sit on the fence as he produced a verbal tirade directed at the person that people believe is the lowest of lows. He did not win of his own accord. He had to stoop so low to find glory. Djokovic as a leader in the sport stood up to be counted … and rightly so.
“They have like a thousand proofs that he's positive (and) I think it's a disgrace for the sport to have an athlete like this,” said Djokovic. “ He cheated the sport. He cheated many people around the world with his career, with his life story. I think they should take all his titles away because it's not fair towards any sportsman, any athlete. It's just not the way to be successful. So I think he should suffer for his lies all these years.”
Tennis has experienced some low level players being banned for taking substances. No leeway can be given to cheats and they must not be tolerated. It does not make for a level playing field. These people trying to find an easy way out to win, gain fame and glory and vast sums of monetary rewards must never be allowed to happen.
In tennis the testing process is incredibly stringent as athletes on both tours, the ATP World Tour for men and the WTA for women, are also tested out of competition in an effort to keep things clean.
“In tennis at least from my perspective, it's really good,” he said. “Anti doping regulations a little bit maybe more strict in sense that you have to fill the whereabouts documents and you have to basically give an hour or two in every day of your life in a whole year, where you are.
“It gives them an opportunity to test you. And you know it is the same for the other players. At least from that point of view it's fair. I have nothing against the anti doping federation, association, testing me 10, 20, 30 times a year. As long as I know as many numbers of testing for the other players, I'll be happy.”
Djokovic says he has not been blood tested during the last year; he said that aspect was more regular in the past and he was not sure of the reason. In fact the main reason is the cost, it is incredibly expensive. However, he indicated as long as it's fair and it's clean and they continue to protect the identity of this sport, that’s what matter.
As he said, and we believe it to be true, tennis players are among the cleanest athletes in the world in one of the most competitive sports and if it stays that way there can be no complaints how much testing is done and in what manner.
Cycling has suffered big time with all the cheating athletes and its lost followers and it is something we in tennis will not and must now allow to happen.
“I lost a lot of faith in cycling. I used to watch it,” said Djokovic. “All the big champions that were there, Marco Pantani, now Lance Armstrong. Yeah, I don't want to say all. I really don't know. There has been so much controversy about that sport.
“I'm sure that there are many cyclists in the world who are training very hard and trying to not use any enhancing drugs for their competition.
“But I think it's not acceptable that they have physically so much races in short period of the time. I think basically every single day, day and a half; they have to go through 200 miles. Uphill, downhill in Giro D'Italia, Tour de France, that's inhuman effort. As you can see, Lance Armstrong, many other big champions, had to use something to succeed.”
