Admire Agassi for his courage to confess: Mary Joe

Updated on: 31 October,2009 07:00 AM IST |
Agencies |

Mary Joe Fernandez, captain of the American Fed Cup tennis team, said she was stunned to hear of Andre Agassi's failed drug test.

Mary Joe Fernandez, captain of the American Fed Cup tennis team, said she was stunned to hear of Andre Agassi's failed drug test.

Eight-time Grand Slam champion Agassi admitted in his autobiography, called Open, that he'd taken the highly-

addictive drug crystal methamphetamine and then lied to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) to escape a ban.

"I've always admired Andre and he was a huge part of inspiring my generation. You know he's opening up now and that's his choice and maybe people can learn from it."

Doubts
Fernandez said players nowadays get tested over two dozen times a year so she doubts anybody could get away with what Agassi did.

"The drug testing is so severe that I can't imagine anybody getting away with anything now," she said. "Players are getting tested in and out of competition at least 25, 30 times a year. So for the last five, six years it's been pretty strict, or as strict as it can be."

The ATP issued a statement on Wednesday saying that an independent panel makes the final decision on a doping violations.

"It has always been ATP policy not to comment on anti-doping test results unless and until an anti-doping violation has occurred.

Under the tennis anti-doping program it is, and has always been, an independent panel that makes a decision on whether a doping violation has been found.

"The ATP has always followed this rule and no executive at the ATP has therefore had the authority or ability to decide the outcome of an anti-doping matter," the statement said.

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