Djokovic faces sanctions for refusing doping test

Former cycling champion Marc Madiot has called for Novak Djokovic to be punished after the Serbian player defied a Davis Cup doping test.

Novak Djokovic has complained about being asked to submit to a pre-match doping test after helping Serbia beat Great Britain in the Davis Cup quarter-finals last week. The 36-year-old said the blood and urine tests should have been done after the match.

Djokovic played in the Davis Cup, where he and Serbia lost to Italy in the semi-finals. Photo: Davis Cup

"I told the organizers that I had never seen this before," Djokovic told the media about being asked to take a doping sample. "He sat in a corner and watched me for hours. It was too much. I support doping tests, but not before a match."

But former road cycling champion Marc Madiot believes governing bodies should punish Djokovic for resisting doping tests. "You always know the doping test schedule and someone will follow you all day. He will follow you to the locker room, to the toilet or shower, and to the press conference. I don't see any difference whether you do it before or after the match," he said.

According to Madiot, who is the director of the French cycling team Groupama-FDJ, some doping has a short shelf life, and can be eliminated during competition. This means that the sample is no longer valid if taken after the race. "I know some doping is used for a very limited time," Madiot said. "So they have to test you before the race. You don't have the right to refuse to be tested, that's the rule."

Madiot, a two-time Paris–Roubaix road cycling champion, said he had been tested many times during his career and that if the anti-doping agency had done its job, Djokovic would have been banned from the Davis Cup quarter-finals. "In cycling, if you refuse a drug test, you will definitely be punished," he said.

Djokovic took the sample after his quick 6-3, 6-4 win over Cameron Norrie. The Serbian has been in fine form towards the end of the season, winning 19 consecutive matches at one point. He has also lost just one of his 28 Grand Slam matches this season.

Former French tennis player Marion Bartoli disagrees with Madiot, saying: "Usually the sample is taken after the match because the concentrated urine gives a more realistic result."

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