Football
Associated Press 21y

Safin says EPO testing invasive, unnecessary

SYDNEY, Australia -- Marat Safin says blood testing for the
banned performance-enhancing substance EPO is invasive and
unnecessary, and that players weren't properly consulted about its
introduction in tennis.

Blood testing for EPO -- short for erythropoieten -- is expected
to be conducted for the first time at a Grand Slam tennis
tournament starting next week at the Australian Open.

Safin, a finalist at Melbourne Park last year, said there was
already enough drug testing and that EPO wasn't a big issue in
tennis.

"We go for too much. First of all, we have to go for the urine
testing, now we have to go to EPO -- I said to the ATP that I don't
think it's correct, but they really didn't listen,'' Safin said
after withdrawing from the adidas International on Thursday with a
shoulder problem.

The former U.S. Open champion said some people were afraid of
needles, others could object on cultural or religious grounds. He
said fellow Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov was one of the people who
doesn't want a needle put into his vein.

"Not every person can take it, easily,'' Safin said. "Some
people, they get dizzy afterward.''

The Australian Sports Drug Agency, which can be commissioned to
conduct EPO tests throughout Australia, said only 10-12 milliliters
(less than half a fluid ounce) of blood is taken in a dual-test
format, which also involves a urine test.

An Australian Open official said it was agreed in principle that
blood-testing could be conducted at Melbourne Park. However, he
said the blood tests were supposed to be random and, so, wouldn't
necessarily start at the Australian Open from Jan. 13-16.

Safin said tennis players didn't need endurance-enhancing drugs
due to the nature of the sport.

"I'm sure that nobody needs to take any drugs to be able to
play on the court,'' he said. "It's not the kind of sport like
cycling, for example, where you have to go to the mountains for six
hours. It's one hour and a half of tennis, it's not so much.''

Safin seems to be in a minority of players who oppose the blood
tests.

The plan to test for EPO, which raises the oxygen-carrying
capacity of blood, was presented to players at Wimbledon last
summer. A players council met two days before the U.S. Open and
indicated it was in favor of the testing. Players already are
tested for recreational drugs and steroids.

Belgian women Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, No. 4 and No. 5
in the women's rankings, are strong advocates of the blood doping.

Clijsters, who is on the WTA player's committee, said as much
testing as possible was good for the sport.

"The only thing is I'm a bit scared of needles -- that's the
only way to test for EPO, is with a blood test -- so that's the only
problem, but I could learn,'' she said.

Henin said she was 100-percent behind the extra testing.

"It will prove tennis is OK -- it will be good for tennis,'' she
said.

Tests will be given to players on the men's and women's pro
tours -- the ATP and WTA -- and members of the International Tennis
Federation, which oversees the four Grand Slam tournaments, the
Davis Cup and Fed Cup.

A positive test for EPO would result in a two-year suspension. A
second offense would be punished by a lifetime ban.

In recent years, two Argentine players were suspended after
testing positive for banned substances. Petr Korda, who won the
1998 Australian Open, tested positive for the steroid nandrolone at
Wimbledon later that year. He was banned for a year.

EPO has been prevalent among athletes in sports such as cycling
and cross-country skiing.

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