On the court he continues to be unstoppable (a few days ago he was proclaimed champion of the Nitto ATP Finals), but Novak Djokovic has been surrounded by controversy for some time. After several years ago he was banned in Australia for refusing to take the Covid vaccine, these days he has been in the news again in this case for refusing to take an anti-doping test before the match against Cameron Norrie during the Davis Cup.
The Serbian player received a notification on Thursday, an hour and a half before playing his first match with Cameron Norrie, to take an anti-doping test. The test requirement was not only for him but for the entire Serbian team and they refused to do it, understanding that it was not the time in the middle of the series.
“It’s the first time it’s happened to me. It doesn’t make sense to do it before when I’m going to be there after the match,” Djokovic commented in Serbian after beating Norrie and giving his country a place in the Davis Cup semifinals. “I have not yet completed the control because I need a blood sample. They have notified me an hour and a half before starting and I have my pre-match routines and I do not have to think at that moment about giving blood or urine.”
The world number one assured that he felt persecuted by the doctor: “I argued with him because it is something that had not happened to me in 20 years of career. He sat in one of the corners and followed me for hours. It is outrageous. I have always defended controls, but not before games. There is nothing to hide, but there have to be certain limits.”
In fact, Dojokovic went to ask the representative of the World Anti-Doping Agency for explanations. “He told me that they wanted to do it before the game because afterwards it would be too late and to give the players a rest. And I answered that the winning team would rest on Friday.”
The truth is that last Monday, at the meeting of the members of the International Tennis Federation with the eight captains, they were informed of the possibility of surprise tests being carried out by the World Agency staff before or after the matches. It is the usual operating system of the ITF in its competitions, different from the ATP or ‘Grand Slam’ tournaments.
