"Supervisor told me that it was against rules": Fellow tennis player recounts similar 'illogical' situation as Novak Djokovic doping test before match

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.

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"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.

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"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."

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