With the ATP?s Masters Cup almost over, only the Davis Cup final remains on the calendar of big-time tennis. This week we look at some of the rather humorous exchanges between the top male players and the Chinese journalists following the Masters Cup in Shanghai, and pause to reflect on the latest developments in the world of tennis drug testing.
Shanghai reporters steal the show
Anyone who doubts the wisdom of the adage, ?East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet?, need only take a gander at the press conference transcripts from the Masters Cup in Shanghai. The local reporters have a unique interrogatory style, and it rarely failed to confound and annoy the players.
If you reach the semifinals, as Juan Carlos Ferrero did by ousting Jiri Novak on Friday, you might be as perplexed as Ferrero was by this question:
QUESTION: There's a saying in Chinese that you play catch-up
towards the end. You didn't start off the tournament too well, but then
you performed better the last two matches. Do you have your sights
set on winning the tournament now?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Of course I want to win the tournament.
What question is this?
If you lose and are eliminated, as was Novak, you had better not look too nonchalant about it.
QUESTION: You look very relaxed even after being out of this
tournament. Why?
JIRI NOVAK: Why? Do you want me to cry all the time?
On the other hand, if you are eliminated and appear despondent, as Andre Agassi did after losing his second match (also to Ferrero), the local scribes might fear that you hold a grudge against their city.
QUESTION: We still cannot believe that you lost the first two games,
you know. I just say that I mention last night, Shanghai seemed to be a
miserable place. Do you really think this city, the fans or everybody,
the atmosphere, do you feel homesick here or feel depressed? Also so
many unforced errors happen tonight, so we still cannot believe what
happened. So will you come next year or even want to come again?
ANDRE AGASSI: I've enjoyed Shanghai very much. The only thing I
hate is coming to the press conference and listening to questions like
that.
Back to our successful players, Roger Federer had a lot of support, and a reporter gave a glimpse as to why:
QUESTION (to Federer):
I think the Shanghai fans, the Chinese fans like you
because of your smile and your big nose and I think your style is very
distinguished among the nine Masters.
We will not reproduce Roger?s answer, as he diplomatically skirted the nose issue.
Next year the Masters Cup moves to Houston. The interview questions risk being much more pedestrian. We?re sure the players will be relieved, but we?ll miss the Chinese reporters and their press conference panache.
Doping (bis)
Those who may have been anticipating a blockbuster announcement resulting from the two positive tests conducted by France?s Conseil de prévention et de lutte contre le dopage (CPLD) during this year?s French Open were disappointed. An unnamed male player was cleared of any wrongdoing because had a valid prescription for the restricted substance for which he tested positive, the local anaesthetic lidocaine. The case of the female player who tested positive, Mirjana Lucic, was somewhat more controve
rsial.
According to the CPLD, Lucic tested positive for bupropion, an antidepressant that is also used for inducing weight loss and as an aid for eliminating tobacco addiction, and is on the International Olympic Committee?s list of banned substances because of its perceived value as a stimulant. Lucic was handed a one month suspension for events taking place in France. Given that Lucic was not scheduled to compete in France in the coming month, the light suspension was largely symbolic. In any event, bupropio
n is being withdrawn from the IOC?s banned list next year..
Still, the WTA and ITF launched into action as soon as the CPLD announcement was made, issuing the inevitable huffy press releases. "It is completely at odds with the purpose of any
legitimate anti-doping programme and strongly suggests that the CPLD is focused on
priorities other than drug free sport and athlete health,? said the WTA CEO Kevin Wulff. ?Mirjana Lucic did not commit a doping
infraction under the rules of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme,? chimed in ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti. ?Our goal is to punish
drug abusers and not to persecute people."
Yet, strangely, the CPLD affirmed that Lucic was unable to supply an adequate medical prescription justifying the use of the drug. And obviously, neither the WTA nor the ITF was able to help. Far from persecuting Lucic, the CPLD appeared to be sending the tennis ?heads of state? a message that they are a bit too lax with their exemptions?.