Croatia’s Cilic cops a nine-month ban after testing positive for stimulant
GALLO IMAGES CROATIANtennis player Marin Cilic has been banned for nine months after testing positive for the stimulant nikethamide, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said yesterday.
In a statement the ITF said Cilic had “ingested the nikethamide inadvertently as a result of taking Coramine glucose tablets, and did not intend to enhance his performance in doing so”.
The suspension has been backdated to May 1, allowing Cilic to return to the circuit on January 31 next year.
The ITF said Cilic had tested positive at the BMW Open in Munich this year. Cilic asserted that he had taken the stimulant by accident as a result of taking glucose tablets purchased on his behalf from a pharmacy.
Cilic, 24, has not played since withdrawing from his second-round match at Wimbledon in June.
He defeated then world number two Andy Murray in the fourth round of the 2009 US Open and reached the semi-finals of the 2010 Australian Open, where he lost to the Briton.
Cilic broke into the top 10 in February 2010 and reached a career-high of ninth. The Croat , who is currently ranked 24th, spent 11 successive weeks in the top 10.
American qualifier Vania King advanced to the second round of the Guangzhou Open by beating 2011 champion Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 2-6 6-1 6-3 yesterday.
Scheepers finished the match with 10 double faults.
Defending champion Hsieh Suwei of Taiwan also reached the second round, beating Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 6-1 6-2, while eighth-seeded Monica Puig of Puerto Rico defeated Nadiya Kichenok of Ukraine 7-5 7-6 (4). – Reuters and Sapa-AP
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