Korda sees no reason to hide
Posted: Tuesday January 12, 1999 10:16 AM
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Korda will continue to play on the tour AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Petr Korda says he will defend his
Australian Open title because he has proven his innocence on drug
charges and has no reason to hide from his fellow players.
A player backlash against Korda, who tested positive to steroid
Nandrolone at Wimbledon in July, resulted in the International
Tennis Federation appealing against a ruling by its own appeals
commission.
Korda was stripped of ranking points and prize money won at
Wimbledon but the committee ruled against imposing the maximum
one-year ban.
"I wanted to play in Australia because I haven't done anything,
why should I hide," Korda said Tuesday. "I don't have a problem
standing in front of anyone. I just want to show the world I'm
still capable of playing tennis and I want to defend my title as
well as I can."
Korda would not comment on the ITF's decision to refer the case
to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a process which could take
three months, but maintained he took the steroid without knowing.
"I have proved my innocence in accordance with the ITF's own
rules to the satisfaction of extremely well qualified legal and
technical members of the independent appeals committee," Korda
said. "I would like to think that everyone will now respect that
finding.
"I say again that I have never knowingly taken or been treated
with any banned substances and I would never try to gain an unfair
advantage over my fellow professionals by taking performance
enhancing drugs."
While players such as Jonas Bjorkman, Richard Krajicek and
Lindsay Davenport have questioned Korda's escape from a ban, he
found one supporter in American Andre Agassi on Tuesday.
Agassi had a training session with Korda on Monday and Tuesday
said it was too early to condemn the 30-year-old Czech.
"To be quite honest I feel the need to give the benefit of the
doubt to Petr and the committee," Agassi said. "It's certainly a
situation that's not easy on anyone, especially Petr at the
moment."
The Korda case has dominated the buildup to the first Grand Slam
tournament of the year.
"It's disappointing to see something overshadow what we're all
down here for but we have certain rules," Agassi said. "To find
out the reasons behind the decisions that are made is something the
players are entitled to."
The world's leading players will meet in Melbourne on Saturday
and the case will be assessed during the meeting, Agassi said.
Meanwhile, former world No.1 Thomas Muster said Korda was facing
a difficult time in Melbourne.
"When he walks into the dressing room he'll feel about 200 eyes
are going to be looking at him and that's the pressure he has to
deal with," Muster told a news conference in Sydney.
Muster said the ITF appeals committee had made a "weak"
decision on Korda.
"If there is a rule it should be enforced and the question is
was he guilty or not," Muster said. "If he was guilty punish him
as the rule says, if not let him go, it's as easy as that."
Boris Becker was fined U.S.$20,000 for inferring that
Muster took drugs after a match at Monte Carlo in 1995. Muster
requested a drugs test and returned a negative result.
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