I have nothing to add at this point. The onus is on the ITF to prove they have an effective doping control programme, but they are not interested in doing so. I wonder why? Of course, I also do not understand how their testing plan is consistent with the WADA's International Standard for Testing.
As for the media, they have demonstrated their priorities quite clearly.
Enjoy the rest of the circus.
Update #1
1. There's been some mentions of Novak Djokovic taking a pill during the semi-final. Check this out. It recalls something from 2011, no?
2. Andy Murray gave a blood and urine sample after the match. Even though this would be the only time he was tested the entire tournament, he still complained.
Update #2
A clip of Djokovic taking something under the towel, during the semi-finals.
Djokovic is explaining his health oddities by saying it's allergies again. Always used to be his thing that, but then they completely disappeared for all last year.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I wondered a while ago whether "allergies" in 09/10 were the consequencies of cycling. He was so much "stronger" in 08, won his slam in Australia, then fell away badly for two years.
Ever since he implied Nadal was a doper back in 2006 and being one of the few journalists to speak out in favor of more testing, Bodo has done a complete 180 and now seems to not give a care in the world about the doping problem. Whether he had pressure put on him or whether he just changed his mind, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteAnd to people (not here) who are "worried" that Djokovic may be too "tired" to play Nadal in the finals, go back to last year where he played Murray in a long semifinal in Rome and beat Nadal easily less than 24 hours later. Or his long five-setter with Federer at the U.S. Open and then beat Nadal pretty convincingly in the finals (even though it was four sets - the first two sets Djoker won weren't close).
Djokovic will be fine (thanks to his doping routines) and will probably trounce Nadal, who seems to have heroically recovered from his "knee problems." For the third straight Slam we have the two most egregious dopers on the ATP Tour playing each other.
What's this all about? From ESPN on the 3rd Set:
ReplyDelete"Special concoction: Among Ivan Lendl's vast responsibilities, apparently, is to help charge up his new charge. Lendl was seen delivering a lemonade-like drink to someone to give to Murray. Who knows what it was, but both competitors needed something to rejuvenate them at this point."
http://espn.go.com/tennis/blog/_/name/espntennis/id/7509217/australian-open-breaking-novak-djokovic-andy-murray
From Murray post-match:
DeleteQ. What was Ivan putting in your drink?
ANDY MURRAY: Ivan is not doing it. It's my fitness trainer. It's just an energy drink that I've been using for four years now.
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2012-01-28/201201271327673723322.html
I'm absolutely loving this...let nadal get a taste of his own medicine, after all the torture he has inflicted on Federer and the ATP over the years...it's sad but he still deserves to lose every final he plays from now own...doping his way to 10 slams
ReplyDeleteBodo using Korda as an example defies stupidity. It's very likely that Korda had just started his doping regimen and was thrown under the bus, as is usually the case, since he wasn't exactly a high profile player.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to go into the whole "how do you know player x is juicing" routine, it's been well documented on this site.
According to Bodo's bizarro view, there's no reason any professional cyclist (or cross country skier) should be suspected of doping because they don't "look" like dopers and stamina cannot be used as an indicator of PED use. His comment would be funny, if it wasn't so pathetic.
Deleteagreed. Though I worry that he won't have the slightest edge given his extra day off. Still his game doesn't seem to bother the Djoker at all. Let the best doped man win! Personally at least Djokovic's game is better on the eyes. Nadal is the most boring basher the game has every produced. All grit and no grace.
ReplyDeleteI think Bodo's comment about Korda raises even more suspicion about the super athletes at the top of the game. If Korda, a guy whose game was not built around grinding, felt the need to dope in order to compete, then what does that imply about those whose games are built around retrieving and forcing mistakes with impenetrable defense? Surely, doping is even more of a necessity for them. They are simply better at not getting caught.
ReplyDeleteFully agree. Saying Korda was the last guy anyone suspected, basically, probably completely unintentionally, throws suspicion on *everyone*. Let alone those who rose out of nowhere to start winning Slams (Nadal, Djuicevic, Stosur, Schiavone, Serena).
DeleteKeep it up Sen! By the way, do you think it's nearly time to update the curious case of rafael nadal page? There's certainly been enough bogus sounding stuff since the last update, regarding a lack of US '10 serve and the latest shoulder and knee crap.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adam. I'm trying to lay-off going after individual players. Instead, it's about building the case that the system is broken. I think that is the more important point to make. However, rest assured that when players say, and do, ridiculous things I will comment (like Nadal continuing to play with his knee wrapped despite absolutely no evidence of hinderance in movement).
DeleteSen no Rikyu,
DeleteI forgot to add my thanks to the work you've done these past few weeks with the doping test charts. It's just astonishing how people can still claim with a straight face that the tennis organizations do "stringent" drug testing.
Sen, I'd like to thank you too for all the great info about the pathetically inadequate tournament testing. Building the case that the system is broken is vital. But my problem is that too many people I meet, while knowing next to nothing about the game, firmly believe tennis is clean or that "there is stringent testing, isn't there?" Usually such discussions only arise after something like the recent Fed/Nad match, because they are the two players most people have at least heard of. Most people I know can't name anyone outside the top ten, let alone care whether they juice or not, and have zero knowledge of any tournament outside the GSs or of anything to do with doping. But they are interested in why people like us think Nadal and Djokovic and Serena are cheating. For me at least, it's useful to be able to point them to a summary of the Nadal case, it being the most blatant one in tennis history and an object lesson in how doping is done. I know there's no point in showing them tables of names and dates, however useful those are to this blog. And that's why, like Adam, I'd really appreciate an update of the Curious Case of Rafa Nadal, if you had time to do it!
DeleteIndeed, having an in depth summary of the most suspicious of individuals is a useful tool in highlighting a plethora of suspicious potential methods used by one particular extremely high profile player to use PEDs. Your response, however, was commendable, and you sure have been all over individuals' suspicious behaviour of late. Thanks again for all your work Sen; your input is never trivial.
Deleteamaranth's point got me thinking that possibly the reason why the likes of Nadal and Murray complain so loudly about testing is to give the impression that it is stringent at least to the general audience of tennis or those who only tune up to watch Nadal/Fed rivalry. I too so often read comments on tennis news sites by readers who affirm that there is no way a tennis player can dope and escape the testing which they think is highly frequent.
DeleteYes, SamsGenes, that's what I hear all the time, even from people who think they are well informed and even from people who actually follow tennis. At one time I had no idea how a player could juice and get away with it, and zero knowledge of the cardinal signs, so I assumed it was a minor problem or no problem at all. For me too it was the Federer/Nadal match at Wimby 2008 - Fed's then inexplicable inability to beat Nadal when it really matters - and then this blog that opened my eyes and I'm extremely grateful to THASP and to you. Now I find myself constantly trying to alert anyone who asks to the reality of the situation - not to cast blame, but to try to alert people to the incredible truth. Any summary of how Nadal in particular does it is invaluable.
DeleteLuckily for me I have one colleague who plays tennis in France and tells me the French tennis world is more clued up about this than almost anyone else, and not just the courageous Yannick Noah.
amaranth, it is interesting you should mention the French tennis world's knowledge on this matter, since I've never heard a crowd pull for Federer moreso than at the French Open, and rarely for Nadal (or at least, not as much), despite his success there. I do wonder if, rather than simply the fact that Federer is often the underdog in their match-up as well as a fan favourite, suspicions of Nadal's legitimacy play a big role in the crowd's perception and support.
DeleteAdam, yes, I think so - I suspect many French tennis followers know what is going on but are powerless to stop it, and that's one reason they yell for Fed so much (there were sophisticated Parisians on their feet everywhere, jumping and screaming with delight, when Fed beat the Djoker last year - not to mention the final with its choruses of Roger, Roger, Roger!). I think the RG surface and balls have actually been changed slightly to favour Fed recently, as the French organisers want him to win. It was also at the French Open that Nadal was allegedly caught in 2009, resulting in the silent ban for which genuine tennis fans everywhere must be grateful, and I suspect more people in France know about that than meets the eye.
DeleteMy colleague told me she mentioned dope to her French tennis coach, who quietly said he knew what was going on and then changed the subject. That was at least something - tennis people elsewhere won't even acknowledge it and clam up instantly the moment doping is hinted at. What can you do? Even young kids are now doping in order to win, I'm told. It's increasingly easy to do. As people here have said, it may need someone famous to drop dead on court for anything to change. Who would wish that on even the juicer supreme? Not me.
And I'm immensely grateful for what you did Sen. In a few posts you taught us more about anti-doping in tennis than years of fluff pieces by so-called tennis writers, whose only opinion on the subject was "tennis is stringent" and "there may be a few bad apples, but who knows". At least it seems to be more and more commonly implied on the tennis forums that the top guys are doping, even if they take it lightly or make fun of it.
ReplyDeleteDjokovic got stronger as the match went on. He had serious breathing issues, but then he ate his secret food (looked like a plum or bit of cake or something like this from the brief split second we could see it, but I dobut it was this) and came out on top again after that.
ReplyDeleteTo Murray's credit, even if he did juice to get stronger a few years ago, he really doesn't play like he's particularly juiced the last couple of years. Look at last year's final, he was trounced by "strong" Djokovic. And he was getting really tired in the 5th yesterday too. Not the signs of a huge juicer.
Back to Djokovic- he had breathing problems with his qtr final against Ferrer too. He had his problems for the second set but came strong at the end and won in a tie break. Then he was AOK for the third.
I wonder if he will have breathing problems against Nadal. If so, Nadal could easily take 2 sets off him before he comes round. I think Djokovic might have to win the first set to have a real chance. If he loses the first then gets in to physical trouble, by the time he eats his magic food behnid his towel and gets better, it could be too late.
As for Murray's drink, on my broadcast, at least, they showed quite close up Murray's trainer (as he claims) squeezing some liquid into his lemon-squash looking drink bottle. Maybe just a few millilitres, but obviously had some rejuvenating/anti-cramp effect. Then Lendl screwed the lid on the bottle and passed it to a ballkid who ran it over to Murray.
ReplyDeleteI doubt there's anything illegal about this - as I doubt there's anything illegal in what Djok was taking. If players are going to illegally juice, they are not going to do it on court!
"If players are going to illegally juice, they are not going to do it on court!" Well, so I would assume. Stupidity knows no bounds sometimes...
DeleteI was one of nadal's strongest defenders on this site, but even i have become skeptical now. These are tennis players, yes they are supposed to be fit but this fit? These guys look like squash players or marathon runners with the type of endurance they have
ReplyDeleteThe doping has reached such ridiculous levels that it has basically stopped the aging process. Rafael Nadal and his insanely violent style have been playing more matches than any other player since 2005, yet he is stronger and fitter than ever. This completely denies logic and tennis history. No other player of his playing style has had a similar career trajectory. I wouldn't be surprised if Nadal winds up winning Slams into his 30's. What will the tennis experts say then?
ReplyDeleteFor those with common sense, Nadal has already admitted that he dopes.
ReplyDeleteWhen Malisse, and Wickmayer got caught for not meeting their "whereabouts" requirements, Nadal not only backed them, but he said "I will always side with my fellow player, and assume they are not doping", even if there is strong evidence against them. Until they are "officially" caught (which never happens to top players), he will back them (he defends guys like Contador who was caught, but subsequently "exonerated" by corrupt SPANISH officials.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8353208.stm
From other sports (like cycling), we know that the dopers form an informal alliance with other dopers. They always defend each other. Nadal has all but admitted that he belongs to pro tennis's doper alliance.
1 - I'm half-expecting the winnner of tonight's match to be awarded a heavyweight championship belt in lieu of a trophy.
ReplyDelete2 - Thank the Lord that after tonight Rafa finally gets to rest that nagging, debilitating shoulder injury the whole month of February...
3 - This from Serena..."My company @MissionAthlete was hand-picked by HSN to feature our Pain Relief gel!"
3 - http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/facing-the-final-physical-20120128-1qnbt.html - Pot, meet Kettle....Kettle, meet Pot...funniest goddamn article I've ever read...
That article is hilarious...
Delete"Nadal doesn't think the world No. 1's allergy problems are anything he will be able to exploit.
"It's funny, no? I saw the match yesterday … when he was in the fifth set moving fantastically well,'' said Nadal, who watched the first two sets of the semi-final before heading to dinner and returning to see Djokovic take out the fourth and fifth sets. ''They show images from two hours 50 [minutes] before, and seems like he was destroyed. Two hours 50 later he was in perfect condition. So it is difficult to imagine that he has these problems. I don't know."
http://foodallergyandintolerance.blogspot.com/2011/07/novak-djokovic-wimbledon-champion.html
ReplyDelete...skeptical article
...keep in mind Djokovic had claimed that Dr. Igor took care of his "allergy problems" by diagnosing them as attributable to gluten, thus the gluten-free diet....but now where is Dr. Igor?...I thought he didn't actually have allergy problems, but a gluten problem that upon being solved made him the fittest player in the world, but here we are a year later and Dr. Igor is gone but the allergies that weren't really allergies are back....and it's all bought hook, line and sink-ahhhhhh
For thos interested, Pete Bodo is doing a live chat at 2PM EST over at tennis.com
ReplyDeleteOK. I only just caught up with this website yesterday, but really it affirms my same thinking for the last two years. Coming at the situation differently I always look at the sequence of effects that withdrawal from any addictive drug would have (eg anxiety, worry, unexpected crashing etc etc), and really, Novacaine Cocavich exhibits all of them. As for the 'up' effects they are all equally there - huge euphoria, incredible endurance, excellent reaction time (ie best return of serve on the circuit apart from previously dishonoured Andre Agassi, and we know what happened there). Secondly, and I know this is like circumstantial evidence, you look at the other behavioural methods of actual drug taking. There are a number of ways to take any given drug, mouth, nose, inject, up your arse etc etc. But the latter would be pretty hard to do on a tennis court and of course the absorption is FAR too slow anyway. Through the nose is the fastest way to get certain speed like stimulants straight to where they are needed. So, for example, snorting, wiping of the nose in the guise of wiping off sweat (arm bands for example) would be great places to hide some powdered amphetamines. So of course I couldn't help notice how many times Novacaine Cocavic snorts his arm band. In fact he is a chronic nose wiper. I think it is a case of wipe it on, then wipe it off. It's never a good look having evidence up your nostrils (usually the right arm band which is typically a different colour to the left one - makes it easy remembering which one to actually snort too. The other things to watch for are when drug taking goes wrong - headaches, cramping, nausea, and anger are all possible. Tell me though that the reaction to winning, while a real fitting way to end an epic match, was not a tad "king of the world" euphoria speaking? It was the icing on the cake. On the other hand his interviews post match are usually quite level headed, not really euphoric, so that doesn't stack up. In the end, it just comes down to two main drug effects - the effect of speed on improving concentration, alertness and reaction time, and also the effect on endurance. These might not be huge doses by the way, just small amounts. I'm just waiting for the day when he throws one of those arm bands (by mistake) that ends up getting tested by a pharmacoligist. He also didn't opt for the usual Aussie open towels and preferred instead to use white ones. I remember Nadal once souvenired all his aussie open towels 'for friends', but who knows there may have been other reasons he wanted them back. They would be like a biosignature of all your excreted byproducts. Forget about the tennis authorities, nothing will happen there unless the top offenders fall out of favour for some reason. I am amazed though that my friends and famiy regard me as heretical for my paranoid theories. AT least it keeps the games interesting. We can't deny that it was a great game in Melbourne, Jan 2012. But the quality of tennis which tended to improve as the game went on, must surely reek of the word 'super human'. And that's the bottom line for me. Superman is not actually real. I found that out when I was about 11.
ReplyDelete