Another Tennis Controversy: Was a Player Poisoned?
Top player says he may have been deliberately poisoned before match.
PASSAU, Germany, Nov. 8, 2007 — -- What's going on in the world of pro tennis?
Last week, former world No. 1 Martina Hingis said she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon this summer, though she says she never took drugs.
This week, German player Tommy Haas revealed in an interview with mass circulation tabloid Bild Zeitung that he believes he was poisoned during a match in the Davis Cup semifinal in Russia in September.
Haas is currently ranked No. 13 in the world.
"I never felt so miserable in my whole life as I did on the Saturday and Sunday nights in Moscow. Of the eight hours I should have been sleeping, I've spent six of them on the toilet," he is quoted as saying by German sports agency SID.
On the weekend of Sept. 21, Haas was beaten in straight sets by Russian Igor Andreev, the 33rd-ranked player, and Russia claimed a 3-2 win over Germany.
Allegations of foul play surfaced when German teammate Alexander Waske told Haas that an unnamed Russian sports agent suggested to him that Haas was poisoned ahead of the last match.
Oliver Quante, spokesman for the German Tennis Federation in Hamburg, Germany, told ABCNEWS.com, "Tommy told our president that he never felt so bad in his life and that he spent more time in the bathroom than in his bed. The team doctor saw him three times during the night before the game and gave him some shots."
Quante, who says his organization was surprised by media reports about possible poisoning, explains that the team had dinner together and Haas began feeling sick afterward.
"Our team doctor has assured us that based on his medical expertise there is no concrete reason to suspect poisoning, and that there is no need for further specific medical checks with regards to possible poisoning," Quante said.
However, the International Tennis Federation in London is now looking into the matter.
