Roddick helps Bulgarian player in doping appeal

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - On the day Andy Roddick announced his retirement from tennis, he helped Bulgarian player Dimitar Kutrovsky receive a reduced ban in a doping case.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has published a ruling in Kutrovsky's appeal that reduced his two-year ban to 15 months.

CAS says Roddick "testified about Kutrovsky's character'' by telephone with the Aug. 30 appeal hearing held in New York.

Roddick also called a news conference at Flushing Meadows that day, his 30th birthday, to say that the U.S. Open was his final tournament.

Kutrovsky tested positive in February for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine at the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., where Roddick was the No. 2 seed.

The CAS panel accepted that the 25-year-old Bulgarian did not intend to dope with an over-the-counter energy supplement.