Former world No.1 Boris Becker has sharply criticized Andy Murray and his comments surrounding doping in tennis.
Murray recently admitted that he has suspicions of doping in tennis. The world No.2 has been a vocal supporter of increasing anti-doping measures in tennis. Last November, he called for more money to be invested in anti-doping to safeguard the sport from doping scandals that have troubled other sports such as cycling and athletics in recent years. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Murray said that it was hard to tell if a player was doping.
“I have played against players and thought, ‘They won’t go away’ or ‘They don’t seem to be getting tired’,” Murray told the Mail on Sunday. “Have I ever been suspicious of someone? Yeah. You hear things.
“It’s harder to tell in our sport as people can make big improvements to a stroke or start serving better because they have made technical changes.”
Whist the honesty of Murray has been praised by some, Boris Becker has expressed his displeasure with the comments. Becker, who is the coach of Novak Djokovic, accused the Brit of ‘being out of order’.
“We have random drug-testing and unless it’s proven, they are 100 per cent innocent”, he told the Daily Mail.
“So to assume something because somebody has won a grand slam or is fitter is totally out of order. Andy is one of the fittest players on the tour – he often outlasts players and nobody is questioning his ethics”.
The six-time Grand Slam champion, who was speaking to the media at the Lazarus Awards ceremony, said that he believed Murray, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are ‘clean athletes’. Nadal has been one of the most high profile players prone to doping allegations. Last month he launched legal action against Roselyne Bachelot, the former French minister of sport, after she alleged on French television that Nadal served a silent ban.
“There was always a suspicion of Rafa and I find that so unbelievably disrespectful about one of the greatest players of all time”, Becker said.
Becker’s criticism of Murray might not go down so well with former French Open champion Thomas Muster. In 1995 Becker was fined $20,000 after he accused the Austrian of taking drugs following his win at the Monte-Carlo Masters. This brings into question as to why Becker has taken such a strong stance against Murray when he himself has also expressed similar opinions during his career.
Tennis has recently come under media scrutiny surrounding the effectiveness of their anti-doping program. The scrutiny was triggered after Maria Sharapova confirmed in March that she had failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. The Russian tested positive for Meldonium, a newly banned substance.
