The man who Rafael Nadal played in his first ever Grand Slam final back in 2005 has admitted for the first time he lied to officials after failing a doping test for the second time.
Mariano Puerta faced the possibility of getting banned from the sport for up to eight years just weeks after playing in the Roland Garros title match. He had tested positive for the cardiac stimulant etilefrine, which at the time he said he accidentally consumed after drinking his wife’s glass of water which contained menstrual medication. Initially handed the eight-year ban he successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration to the sport using the glass of water story to get it slashed to two years. Something he now astonishingly claims was a false story.
“The explanation we used as a strategy was a lie. But I didn’t gain any sporting advantage, I don’t want to be seen as a cheat any more,” Puerta told the La Nacion newspaper on Monday.
Former top 10 player Puerta maintains that he never intentionally meant to take a banned substance to get a competitive advantage over his rivals. The 41-year-old says his positive test was because he was taking a nutritional supplement which contained “caffeine and ginseng.” Something he said was given to him by his former fitness trainer Dario Lecman. According to Puerta, the supplement contained traces of the banned substance etilefrine.
“We couldn’t do anything because the pills were bought, I don’t know how to put this … not in a legal way,” said Puerta.
“My lawyers didn’t think it was a good idea to say what happened.”
At his high Puerta was ranked ninth in the world back in 2005 and made $1.7 million in prize money. During his controversy-stricken career, he won three ATP titles on the clay. The Argentine was also banned from the Tour for nine months in 2003 after testing positive for Clenbuterol.
The Argentine’s latest revelation about his lie to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have been dismissed by two former members of his team. Lecman says he never gave any pills to Puerta.
“I’ve got nothing to do with this. I didn’t give him anything. It’s a lie,” he said.
Former coach Andres Schneiter also voiced over Puerta’s new version of the story. According to the ATP, Schneiter is currently working alongside Karen Khachanov and Christian Garin on the Tour.
“I asked him what had happened and he told me he didn’t know. I thought he was lying. I sensed that reply wasn’t sincere, I think he took something without knowing and it was negligence,” he said.
Puerta claims the glass of water story was created by lawyer Eduardo Moliné O’Connor, who was a former executive of the Argentine Tennis Federation. O’Connor died in 2014.
“To today’s tennis players I would say don’t do anything that puts you in a position like mine. How can you be safe?” he said. “Being extremely responsible, do not delegate, do not trust anybody. The price that you might pay for making a mistake is very high. It doesn’t make sense. I was irresponsible.”
