Greg Rusedski Cleared

[Ian_W]

Greg Rusedski has been cleared of a doping offence following his positive test for nandrolone.

 

The British player failed a drugs test for the anabolic steroid last summer, but protested his innocence to the Association of Tennis Professionals.

 

Rusedski, who will hold a news conference next Tuesday, said the judgement was "unequivocal".

 

"It's an enormous relief for me and my family and I look forward to resuming my career," he said in a statement.

 

Had he failed, the 30-year-old faced the possibility of a two-year ban and a premature end to his career.

 

Former British Davis Cup coach David Lloyd, who has strongly defended Rusedski throughout, was delighted.

 

"It's great news for Greg and great news for tennis," he told BBC News 24.

 

"He's been living in hell for the last nine months - it's been very difficult for him to live with.

 

"It was his whole career on the line and he has been living with a time bomb.

 

"All he would like to do would be to get back, get fit and get playing tennis again."

 

Rusedski's defence centred around the case of Czech player Bohdan Ulihrach, who was cleared of a similar offence last year.

 

Ulihrach, and six other unnamed players, were exonerated when the ATP admitted their trainers may have been responsible for handing out contaminated supplements.

 

Rusedski's lawyers argued that the Briton's test carried the same analytical fingerprint as the other seven cases.

 

The ATP has 21 days to consider whether to appeal the verdict through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).