(Málaga) The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) defended its anti-doping procedures on Saturday, two days after Novak Djokovic criticized the fact that he was notified of a test shortly before a Davis Cup match.
The world No.1 and his Serbian teammates had to submit to this control on Thursday evening after the second and final meeting of their quarter-final won 2-0 against the British.
After his decisive victory in the second singles against the Briton Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 in Malaga, Djokovic criticized Thursday evening at a press conference the fact that agents came 90 minutes before the match to inform him that he had to undergo an inspection.
“I was notified that I was chosen for doping control while I was preparing to go onto the field an hour and a half later,” he lamented, in Serbian, pointing to a person in the room. doping control agent who, according to him, had been following him “for several hours already”.
“They informed me after the warm-up,” he continued. “But I have a routine, I just have to prepare myself to go into a match, and I don’t need this distraction,” added the 36-year-old, denouncing a “completely illogical” situation to which he had never been confronted.
“I don’t need anyone to come and take my blood, take my urine, or think about whether I will be able to donate my urine at this moment or not. »
He added that it had been explained to him that such a check, before the match, should allow us to avoid disturbing his team after the match, an argument which he dismissed.
On Saturday, shortly before Serbia began its Davis Cup semi-final against Italy, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) defended anti-doping procedures to AFP.
“Due to the format of team competitions, including the Davis Cup, teams can be notified that they have been selected for doping control before matches begin and provide their samples when ready,” explained an ITIA spokesperson. “Between notification and submission of the sample, they are monitored by a member of the anti-doping team. »
Djokovic reaffirmed the need for controls on Thursday evening: “I have always supported controls, for myself or for everyone else. If you have to do it a hundred times, you do it a hundred times, no problem, but never before a match. »