Tennis News: Nikolay Davydenko calls courruption, Alexander Zverev slaps back

Tennis has had rumors about doping concerns for years. Players get tested, some test positive, and some get suspended. The problem is there is no rhyme or reason for how the punishment is doled out. Iga Swiatek can be cleared of any wrongdoing and get banned for a month, while the same happens to Jannik Sinner and nothing happens.

Former ATP No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko recently chimed in on Russia's Match TV on how tennis handles testing and thinks there is too much oversight. He doesn't think anyone should cheat, but he also doesn't think a player that dopes is going to see that much improvement in their game. Davydenko also said the current rules surrounding doping are "nonsense."

The Russian also believes that "corruption is everywhere," including the potential that the Polish president got involved in Swiatek not being suspended for more than a month although she failed a drug test in August at the Cincinnati Open. Davydenko did not say specifically that the president was involved but also was not going to rule out the possibility.

Nikolay Davydenko says corruption is everywhere and Alexander Zverev pushes back

He said, "You will not play better because of a pill. Tennis is tennis, you will not become number one in the world thanks to doping...I don’t know why (tennis authorities) tightened the control (over drug testing) so much — there is no result...I don’t know what the issue is: maybe sponsors, maybe money. Is it possible that the President of Poland decided the issue for Swiatek? Anything is possible, corruption is everywhere."

In other tennis news, Alexander Zverev is pushing back on reports that he recently reemphasized how poor of a job he felt Ivan Lendl did coaching him between August 2018 and July 2019. The German did not dispute that five years ago he gave an interview where he criticized Lendl for seemingly caring more about his own golf game than Zverev's form. But the ATP No. 2 clarified that he has not made any new comments.

He did this on Instagram, where he wrote, "So, apparently I gave an interview about my coaching relationship with Ivan Lendl recently, which is not true. In fact, I have not spoken to anyone from the press since my foundation event in Tannenhof one day after Turin and I have not made any comments about my coaching relationship with Ivan Lendl in more than five years...this shows once again that some stories have to be completely made up by very bad journalism to keep readers interested in made up drama..."

Of course, Zverev has talked negatively about Lendl, which is his right. Whether he did so recently or not is basically immaterial.

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