Novak Djokovic is not only unstoppable on the tennis court, but also behind the scenes. According to the newspaper “Marca”, during the Davis Cup quarter-final match against Great Britain last Thursday (23).
The number one in the world received a notification for doping control just 1h30m before competing in his match against Cameron Norrie, valid for the quarter-finals of the competition. The test requirement was not just for him, but for the entire team, and everyone refused to do it.
“It’s the first time this has happened to me. If I’m going to be there after the match, what’s the point of doing it beforehand? I haven’t completed the control yet, but I’ve already donated blood. They told me 1h30m before the match, but I have my pre-match routines. I play and I don’t need to worry at that moment about donating blood or urine”, commented the Serbian, who won the game by 2 sets to 0 (6/4 and 6-4) and helped Serbia qualify for the semi-finals of the competition against Italy on Saturday.
Djokovic also said he felt persecuted by the doctor responsible for collecting material for analysis.
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“I argued with him, because it was something that had never happened to me in my 20-year career. The doctor sat in the hallway and followed me for hours. It’s revolting. I’ve always defended the controls, but not immediately before games. I have nothing to hide, but there must be certain limits”.
Furthermore, the 24-time Grand Slam champion said he went to speak personally with the representative of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“He told me that they wanted to do the tests before the game because afterwards it would be too late, and the idea was to rest the players. I replied that the winning team would rest on Friday”, he concluded.