The case against the ITF
The Case against the ITF :
"It may be that tennis is not conducive to EPO. Maybe tennis is not a sport that is driven by a need to maximize stamina, which is what EPO essentially does"
This from Stuart Miller. The very guy who is the head of the ITF's PED testing program. So extra stamina doesn't help in today's tennis, with 40 shot rallies and 6 hour matches ? Really Stuart ?
The head of the ITF (Bitti) has said that the other sports that hope to catch cheats are doing it wrong (ie. it is better to NOT catch the cheats, because of the bad publicity). “We have to protect the integrity of tennis, but our attitude on the sports side is that a positive doping case is a sad day. The attitude of the other side, as we see with Richard Pound, is that it is a celebration. It is a different mentality.”
So, if you are "sad" when a CHEAT gets caught, are you happy when a CHEAT gets away with it, and steals from the clean players ?
The ITF clearly does NOT have the will to catch the cheats. The ITF's testing program is meant to catch a few sloppy non-dopers (like Cilic), but the top level players who have doctors who specialize in doping athletes without getting caught, are unlikely to ever test positive (Cycling was set up the same way, which is why Armstrong got away with it for so long).
- In tournament testing is virtually useless since the players (and their doping doctors) know when they will be tested (only after a match). Tennis has lagged other sports in out of competition testing, and most of tennis's out of competition testing comes at predictable times (just before tournaments). One year, the ITF did most of it's out of tournament testing in October and November, the exact time of year a doping cheat would be cycling down (note how, the ITF no longer tells us when the tests were done - to save embarrassment ?).
- Tennis is slow to introduce new testing. As you can see from Stuart Miller's quote above, it took tennis years to introduce EPO testing, and by that time players had probably moved on to other substances (ie. Cera). Tennis introduced the Biological passport, many years after it was introduced in cycling (and cyclists have long ago figured out how to get around the biological passport). Tennis, until very recently, did very few blood tests, leaving a whole class of PEDS virtually undetected.
- We have seen with Agassi, the tennis authorities are quick to accept the most lame excuse (hey man, it was Slim's drink, honest) from one of it's "heroes" that test positive.
- The ITF is quick to accept any excuse from corrupt national bodies (they "believed" the Spaniards when they said no tennis players were involved in "Puerto", even though that was a lie, and the ITF knew it). They were quick to accept that no tennis players were doped by the doping doctor Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, even though many players were associated with him (the ITF accepted that the players were getting non-doping advice from a doping doctor).
- Players have DRAMATICALLY changed body shape, speed, strength, and stamina in the last ten years.
-Players are associating themselves with doctors whose specialty is to catch doping cheats (the perfect doctor to consult with, when you want to know how to beat the tests ?). "Moreover, he is a licensed physician for completion of doping control."
- You had for years, players whining that tennis's lax dope testing was too harsh (though after Armstrong got caught, they changed their tune for public relations purposes).
- You have players using all kinds of BS excuses to avoid testing ("I thought the person with credentials who rang my doorbell was a prowler" - since when do prowlers announce their arrival ?)
- You have players with suspicious, recurring injuries that go on for years without having any long term affect on the player's performance (this is how athletes like Armstrong can always "peak" at the most opportune time, ie "cycling down, then cycling up"). Armstrong won 7 straight Tour de France races, yet never won any other similar races. Despite their numerous debilitating injuries, these players almost always seem to be at their physical peaks when the grand slams come around.
- The ITF has admitted that they only adhere to WADA's minimal standards with respect to transparency (which is why Cilic was allowed to lie as to why he withdrew from Wimbledon).
- You have an abnormally large number of players (much more than in the general population) getting TUEs for conditions that enable them to use some drugs that may have some performance enhancing capabilities (ie. asthma drugs). Aren't these athletes supposed to be healthier than the general population (which includes older, sicker people), not less healthy ?
- You have players lobbying for other players who got caught cheating (Djokovic-Troiki, Nadal-Llagostera Vives).
- 83% of "Mens Tennis Forums" respondents think the ITF is not testing enough.
- The ITF refuses to allow outside parties (like France's AFLD, and the USA's USADA) do additional testing at the Grand Slams. They allowed the AFLD to do additional testing at the 2009 French Open, but some top players got VERY upset, and no outside testing has been done since.
- The ITF appeared to pressure WADA to back off on the call for more stringent testing, after Armstrong got caught. This sounds very much like a threat "leave us alone, or we will not cooperate", and "nominate a weaker WADA leader".
"Relations with WADA have deteriorated significantly and the lack of help and support from WADA against a background of constant media criticism of its sports 'partners' and the consequent breakdown of trust need to be addressed as a priority," the Italian, who is President of the International Tennis Federation, wrote in a letter to Rogge.
Note that Bitti took this initiative in cooperation with the head of the UCI (McQuaid), who was later booted out partly for suspicion of protecting Armstrong.
- Much like in baseball's "steroids era", you have had an aging of champions in tennis today. Traditionally tennis players played their best tennis before their 26th birthday(with a few notable exceptions). Today, you have very few players under 26 winning the major tournaments.
The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming (as it was for Lance Armstrong before he got caught) that there is rampant doping going on in tennis today, and the ITF is complicit in it.
The Case against the ITF :
"It may be that tennis is not conducive to EPO. Maybe tennis is not a sport that is driven by a need to maximize stamina, which is what EPO essentially does"
This from Stuart Miller. The very guy who is the head of the ITF's PED testing program. So extra stamina doesn't help in today's tennis, with 40 shot rallies and 6 hour matches ? Really Stuart ?
The head of the ITF (Bitti) has said that the other sports that hope to catch cheats are doing it wrong (ie. it is better to NOT catch the cheats, because of the bad publicity). “We have to protect the integrity of tennis, but our attitude on the sports side is that a positive doping case is a sad day. The attitude of the other side, as we see with Richard Pound, is that it is a celebration. It is a different mentality.”
So, if you are "sad" when a CHEAT gets caught, are you happy when a CHEAT gets away with it, and steals from the clean players ?
The ITF clearly does NOT have the will to catch the cheats. The ITF's testing program is meant to catch a few sloppy non-dopers (like Cilic), but the top level players who have doctors who specialize in doping athletes without getting caught, are unlikely to ever test positive (Cycling was set up the same way, which is why Armstrong got away with it for so long).
- In tournament testing is virtually useless since the players (and their doping doctors) know when they will be tested (only after a match). Tennis has lagged other sports in out of competition testing, and most of tennis's out of competition testing comes at predictable times (just before tournaments). One year, the ITF did most of it's out of tournament testing in October and November, the exact time of year a doping cheat would be cycling down (note how, the ITF no longer tells us when the tests were done - to save embarrassment ?).
- Tennis is slow to introduce new testing. As you can see from Stuart Miller's quote above, it took tennis years to introduce EPO testing, and by that time players had probably moved on to other substances (ie. Cera). Tennis introduced the Biological passport, many years after it was introduced in cycling (and cyclists have long ago figured out how to get around the biological passport). Tennis, until very recently, did very few blood tests, leaving a whole class of PEDS virtually undetected.
- We have seen with Agassi, the tennis authorities are quick to accept the most lame excuse (hey man, it was Slim's drink, honest) from one of it's "heroes" that test positive.
- The ITF is quick to accept any excuse from corrupt national bodies (they "believed" the Spaniards when they said no tennis players were involved in "Puerto", even though that was a lie, and the ITF knew it). They were quick to accept that no tennis players were doped by the doping doctor Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, even though many players were associated with him (the ITF accepted that the players were getting non-doping advice from a doping doctor).
- Players have DRAMATICALLY changed body shape, speed, strength, and stamina in the last ten years.
-Players are associating themselves with doctors whose specialty is to catch doping cheats (the perfect doctor to consult with, when you want to know how to beat the tests ?). "Moreover, he is a licensed physician for completion of doping control."
- You had for years, players whining that tennis's lax dope testing was too harsh (though after Armstrong got caught, they changed their tune for public relations purposes).
- You have players using all kinds of BS excuses to avoid testing ("I thought the person with credentials who rang my doorbell was a prowler" - since when do prowlers announce their arrival ?)
- You have players with suspicious, recurring injuries that go on for years without having any long term affect on the player's performance (this is how athletes like Armstrong can always "peak" at the most opportune time, ie "cycling down, then cycling up"). Armstrong won 7 straight Tour de France races, yet never won any other similar races. Despite their numerous debilitating injuries, these players almost always seem to be at their physical peaks when the grand slams come around.
- The ITF has admitted that they only adhere to WADA's minimal standards with respect to transparency (which is why Cilic was allowed to lie as to why he withdrew from Wimbledon).
- You have an abnormally large number of players (much more than in the general population) getting TUEs for conditions that enable them to use some drugs that may have some performance enhancing capabilities (ie. asthma drugs). Aren't these athletes supposed to be healthier than the general population (which includes older, sicker people), not less healthy ?
- You have players lobbying for other players who got caught cheating (Djokovic-Troiki, Nadal-Llagostera Vives).
- 83% of "Mens Tennis Forums" respondents think the ITF is not testing enough.
- The ITF refuses to allow outside parties (like France's AFLD, and the USA's USADA) do additional testing at the Grand Slams. They allowed the AFLD to do additional testing at the 2009 French Open, but some top players got VERY upset, and no outside testing has been done since.
- The ITF appeared to pressure WADA to back off on the call for more stringent testing, after Armstrong got caught. This sounds very much like a threat "leave us alone, or we will not cooperate", and "nominate a weaker WADA leader".
"Relations with WADA have deteriorated significantly and the lack of help and support from WADA against a background of constant media criticism of its sports 'partners' and the consequent breakdown of trust need to be addressed as a priority," the Italian, who is President of the International Tennis Federation, wrote in a letter to Rogge.
Note that Bitti took this initiative in cooperation with the head of the UCI (McQuaid), who was later booted out partly for suspicion of protecting Armstrong.
- Much like in baseball's "steroids era", you have had an aging of champions in tennis today. Traditionally tennis players played their best tennis before their 26th birthday(with a few notable exceptions). Today, you have very few players under 26 winning the major tournaments.
The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming (as it was for Lance Armstrong before he got caught) that there is rampant doping going on in tennis today, and the ITF is complicit in it.
- Jan 27, 2012
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blackcat said:
Sorry was a typing error, meant to say wife.
Anyway here is the story : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...explanations-from-veal-to-Vicks-inhalers.html
Daniel Plaza was the chap, a race walker.
- Jul 21, 2012
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So Nadal has in recent weeks lost to Ferrer and Almagro on clay.. Didnt watch the matches but, not normal.
the sceptic said:
Nadal used to dominate these guys. Something is "wrong" with him.
Lately, he has not had his usual dominant physical presence. It is obvious that he can't win without a significant physical advantage over his competition (a la Armstrong). His tennis just isn't good enough (his shots drop short, he can't track down those "impossible to get" shots, he can't wear out his opponent, his serve is weak). This has happened to him before (mid 2009, when the WADA code was introduced in tennis, resulting in below par performance, and a lot of whining about the testing being "too tough").
I suspect that his doping regime has been upset for some reason (I could only speculate as to why). The introduction of the biological passport ? Paying the price for overdoping in 2013 ? Cycling down before the most important part of the season (3 of the 4 slams are scheduled May to September) ? Is Rafa discouraged, because he knows that a fully juiced Djokovic (as he appears to be) can beat him 9 times out of 10 ?
I am sure his team (Toni, Cotorro,...) will have him ready for the summer however.
Andynonomous said:
I am sure doping is part of the reason however also natural decline due to age. Federer started to get knocked out of tournaments at early stage when he turned 28 even on his best surfaces - Wimbledon 2010 comes to mind - which was the first time he hadn't made the final in years. Nadal turns 28 next month I believe. No amount of doping completely halts natural decline. However saying this it would still not surprise me if Nadal wins the French without dropping a set for example.
SundayRider said:
almagro and ferrer are both older than nadal.
in the case of federer, i'm not sure his initial decline was down to his age, or to the fact that many players around him started upping their programs.
sniper said:
True but Nadal did start very young. If he had been beated by big serving players on hard courts for example it wouldn't mean much but to be beated on clay by those two players is a big shock! Best of 5 at the French open will probably be a different story though.
- Sep 14, 2011
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Don't worry everyone, I am sure Nadal is just focusing on being at his peak for the Slams now, he probably realises that going all out in every tournament is likely to shorten his career and lessen his chances of passing Federer's record. We'll see the fully doped up Nadal at Roland Garros, no need to panic.
- Jan 27, 2012
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sniper said:
Games played at ATP level (win-loss):
Nadal: 681-133
Almagro: 343-220
Ferrer: 570-277
Almagro has a pretty good serve, so he can sometime shorten the games. Still behind the baseline for 99,5% of the time on court however.
Both Nadal and Ferrer are ridiculous. Many three set matches runs 2-3 hours. Five setters even more of course.
Age is important, but total time on court even more so.
It's also entirely possible that Nadal's grinding style has finally caught up with him. Like someone else, I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the French without dropping a set in the second week (he is usually poor in the first week).
i wonder what brailsford makes of the amazing physical progression pro-tennis has undergone in the last one to two decades.
if brailsford's evolutionary theory is right, we should really be looking at some seriously extraterrestrial stuff in a decade from now.
if brailsford's evolutionary theory is right, we should really be looking at some seriously extraterrestrial stuff in a decade from now.
- Mar 13, 2009
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false dichotomy.sniper said:
other options are "others have improved independent of dope, and (iv) combination of all three.
federer decline:
(i) age
(ii) others improved doping program
(iii) others improved independent of dope
(iv) combination of all 3, or combination of 2 of above
blackcat said:
Federer/Murray/Nadal all dismissed the gluten free thing. Murray tried it and said he felt weak and lethargic, Federer said he eats pasta before every match, and Rafa called it a fad.
The gluten free story is that djokovic had an acute gluten allergy that caused him to fatigue, so no surprise that it didn't work for Murray, Nadal, Fed if they did try it.
Here is an interview with Djokovic in Nov 2010, one month before he apparently discovered the gluten problem. It is after a 2 straight sets victory in Basel. Listen to him gasping. One month later he began a 48 match winning streak and didn't look tired once. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_IR5va5Qhk
It's plausible that his energy levels increased as a result of the removal of gluten from his diet, to change him from post match gasping to being able to last 5 sets without retiring, but it is not enough to explain his 2011 year and the fact that he hasn't been able to reproduce that form since imo.
Here is an interview with Djokovic in Nov 2010, one month before he apparently discovered the gluten problem. It is after a 2 straight sets victory in Basel. Listen to him gasping. One month later he began a 48 match winning streak and didn't look tired once. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_IR5va5Qhk
It's plausible that his energy levels increased as a result of the removal of gluten from his diet, to change him from post match gasping to being able to last 5 sets without retiring, but it is not enough to explain his 2011 year and the fact that he hasn't been able to reproduce that form since imo.
- Jan 27, 2012
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so Nishikori takes out the Human Wall in a three hour match on whats supposed to be the "fastest" dirt court in the business.
Better wash down a few of these
before the next match.
Better wash down a few of these
before the next match.
stosurs built like a man
reminds me of sally pearson
i wonder what cibulkova will say today after the match
https://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/...yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-US&_device=tablet
reminds me of sally pearson
i wonder what cibulkova will say today after the match
https://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/...yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-US&_device=tablet
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