There’s a lull now between the end of Wimbledon and the start of the hardcourt season proper. In this interim, attention has focused to another sport–cycling, and the start of the Tour de France.
Cycling has always brought with it charges of doping. Performance enhancing drugs that allow the top cyclists in the world to bike over two thousand miles (3500 km) in three weeks. Lance Armstrong, seven time winner of the Tour, was frequently dogged by claims that he had used such drugs, and he always denied them vigorously. However, the notion of drugs and sport is closely intertwined when it comes to cycling.
Tennis, on the other hand, seems eager to avoid controversy, sweeping various penalties under the rug. Players like Nikolay Davydenko were accused of match fixing for money, throwing in losses. They ruled Davydenko was not guilty. Guillermo Canas was accused of doping in 2005 and spent 8 months trying to clear his name which he eventually did.
More recently, Mathieu Montcourt of France was recently accused of gambling on tennis. While the rest of the world mourned Michael Jackson, Montcourt also died at the age of 24 of an apparent cardiac arrest.
And Richard Gasquet was recently accused of using cocaine. He was suspended and hasn’t played since Miami, prior to the clay court season.
Today, he was found not guilty of cocaine use. His explanation? He had gone to a club and kissed a woman who had used cocaine. The ITF bought this story and has reinstated Gasquet to play as of this morning.
