Russia’s tennis player Natalia Vikhlyantseva has opened up
about an incident from 2018 after an incident regarding doping reportedly
infuriated Novak Djokovic.
There has been reports that the 36-year-old was left furious
after a dope test took place just hours before the start of his Davis Cup tie
against Italy’s Jannik Sinner. Djokovic ended up losing the clash in three sets
with a score of 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
"I had a brief discussion with people from the
anti-doping agency. I didn't believe that they made such a decision, in 20 and
more years of my career, it never happened to me that an hour and a half before
the match, I needed to go for doping control. Illogical situation and decision,”
Djokovic was quoted as saying after the incident.
Vikhlyantseva opened up about an incident from 2018 where
she recalled how dopping officers came at 6 AM to her hotel room.
"I remember during St. Petersburg WTA in 2018 before my
match, doping officers came at 6 am to my hotel room. I tried to convince them
that it's my match day and they can't bother me before match, but decided to
pass doping test. Supervisor told me that it was against rules."
