Kenya strengthens anti-dope rules

NAIROBI: Kenya will hand out sanctions against agents managing four or more athletes who have failed doping tests, the country’s governing body for athletics (KA) said.

Kenya, which has blamed foreign agents for leading athletes into using performance-enhancing drugs, has long been accused of not taking adequate measures to deal with a growing number of doping cases.

“If you manage three or four athletes who have been sanctioned, then you (that manager) will also be sanctioned. The list will be out after the national trials; probably next week,” AK President Isaiah Kiplagat told reporters on Friday.

“You don’t deserve to manage Kenyan athletes. Our new Sports Act has given us powers to take action on such agents. We won’t spare anybody.”

WAWRINKA IN SEMIS ROTTERDAM: Stan Wawrinka was untouchable on serve in the opening set as the Swiss powered into the semi-finals of the ATP Rotterdam World Tennis event on Friday with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win over Gilles Muller.

Fourth seed Wawrinka will Saturday face second seed Milos Raonic, whose big serve accounted for a mere six aces in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Canadian winner has lost in all three previous matches to Wawrinka.

Top seed Kei Nishikori kept his bid for a third straight ATP Memphis title alive on Friday with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final win over Austin Krajicek.

SERENA PULLS OUT

PARIS: Tournament favourite Serena Williams has pulled out of the Dubai Open through illness, the organisers announced on Saturday.

In a short Twitter statement, the tournament organisers said Williams as well as Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, a wildcard entry, had both withdrawn from the tournament, which starts on Sunday.

Williams, winner of 19 Grand Slam titles, has been suffering from a nagging cough since the Australian Open triumph.