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ShareMumbai: Roger Federer said he is shocked. Rafael Nadal said cheats should be punished. Andy Roddick said Andre Agassi is still his hero, drugs and lies or not.
Excerpts from the former tennis great's soon-to-be-released autobiography state that not only did he take the narcotic crystal meth in 1997, he came up with a cock and bull story when he tested positive.
The ATP bought his explanation (see box) and Agassi went on to win a career slam. He retired in 2006 at the age of 36, a grand old man of tennis, a comeback marvel, the rebel who fell and then fought his way up -- an exciting character all around.
Since his divorce from Hollywood actor Brooke Shields to his marriage to fellow great Steffi Graf, Agassi went from bad boy of tennis to ATP's darling, immersed in the good works. So Roddick's reaction is easy to understand: Agassi's given so much back, what's wrong with a little mistake when the going was bad?
But may be what Agassi did (taking banned drugs and lying) is symptomatic of everything that's going wrong with tennis today.
Richard Gasquet tested positive for cocaine earlier this year. He claimed that he had kissed a girl in a nightclub who might have been a user. Is his explanation more believable than Agassi's lie at the time -- his manager was a junkie who left drink glasses with crystal meth in them and Agassi drank one without knowing? If the ATP could have believed Agassi, they were bound to believe Gasquet and they did.
What does this augur for the game when top players break the rules and the tour cannot afford to prosecute them because they provide the money?
After all, the drug problem is not the only one which the tennis world is grappling with. For the last three years serious accusations of betting, fixing and tanking matches have been made. Nikolay Davydenko came under scrutiny but nothing was proved. Last month Danish youngster Caroline Wozniacki was accused of throwing a match when she retired hurt in spite of leading 7-5 and 5-0.
Both the ATP and the WTA have their work cut out. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) which controls the Grand Slams and Davis Cup has come down strongly on Agassi's revelations as well as the ATP's slow reaction to them. All three organisations have everything to lose if tennis loses credibility. Both Federer and Nadal have reiterated the fact that the game must be clean.
The game, however, can only be clean if the players are clean. Commentators are questioning the need to have players' representatives in the ATP and WTA, implying that players will never take action against themselves. But including players in the governing body of a sport is an enviable achievement for tennis and it ought not to be surrendered. Instead, they need to be more responsible and work harder at damage control.
Both men and women have been complaining about the length and rigour of the tour. Injuries are rampant and so is stress -- the temptations which are offered can only be imagined.
But a hectic tour allows for more money and not all are willing to surrender that. The choices before the tennis world are tough. If they do not sort it out, the downward spiral will be fast and dire.
Agassi's crystal meth escapade started with defiance, then regret, then euphoria and finally a cleaning spree. Is there a strange sort of example for tennis's governing bodies there?
