Never a cheat!?...always a cheat? (Greg Rusedski)

Member Name: benniash

Product:	Greg Rusedski
Date:	10/03/04 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: One of the best serves in the game, Cleared of drug offence

Disadvantages: Weak backhand, Stigma of drug allegations will always haunt him

The members that know me well will know that I detest the thought and knowledge of drug taking in sport to enhance competitors? performances. This is made worse when it is people I respect and have supported through the years such as Rio Ferdinand and Dwain Chambers, so I was even more disappointed early this year when I heard that Greg Rusedski had failed a drugs test.

For many British tennis fans Greg Rusedski has always lived in the shadows of Tim Henman. Rusedski was born and raised in Canada but when he gained British citizenship in 1995 he elected to represent Great Britain. In truth this was a major boost to British tennis, with Henman also breaking through we were given a new light and not only did it give the fans two promising players to follow in tournaments, but improved our Davis Cup team and we were able to compete on the world stage at last with the likes of the USA and Germany who seemed to be dominating the sport at the time.

Moving to Britain obviously helped Rusedski?s game and within two years the powerful left-hander had moved up to number four in the world rankings and his appearance in the final of the US Open made him the first Britain since to Fred Perry in 1936 to appear in a Grand Slam final. Despite losing that final to Pat Rafter, Greg went one better later that year by claiming the Grand Slam cup, arguably his greatest victory as a professional. That year Greg had started to prove the doubters wrong, I for one had been impressed by his overall improvement and it was obvious he?d worked hard to build a game around his now famous work record serve. I think us Brits like something to shout about and although many of us were still uneasy about his Canadian roots, the biggest indicator that he had won over the British public came in the form of being voted BBC Sports Personality of the year. The more cynical will recall it was a poor year for British sport in general, especially on an independent level with few out
standing individual performances to speak of, but none the less the public had spoken.

Despite adding several reasonable successes to his trophy cabinet, Rusedski has never really lived up to the promise of that year. Arguably his greatest chance of a grand slam has been Wimbledon yet he hasn?t progressed further than the quarter finals. The last few years have been blighted by injury and he has received more newspaper column inches for his temperamental behaviour on and off the court than his actual tennis performances. Rusedski has publicly split from several coaches, including his well documented relationship with Pat Cash, and last year his infamous outburst towards the umpire during a match with Andy Roddick at Wimbledon over shadowed any achievements he made.

2004 was supposed to be Greg?s comeback year. He?d shaken off injuries and at thirty he knows his best years may well be behind him. So when the results of a test taken back in July of last year tested positive for the banned drug nandrolone it looked like the end of his career. What I was most impressed with though was Greg?s attitude. Firstly he came out himself and admitted to the sporting world that he had tested positive. Sure, he claimed his innocence but he didn?t wait for the press to get hold of the story and drag him through the gutter. He offered his side of events and promised to fight for his name.

Today (10/3/2004) he has been cleared. I?m sure there will be repercussions throughout the tennis world as the whole episode seems to be confusing and should it be left as it is it would open the door for others who test positive to cry innocence and avoid the two year ban. The main reason that Rusedski has been cleared of the doping offences is that it appears that the supplements that put the traces of nandrolone in his body were actually supplied by the ATP. Personally I think Greg will struggle to lose the stigma attached to someone who fails a drugs tes
t, regardless of the fact he has been cleared. What I think he really needs to do is start performing on the court and transfers some of those front-page headlines to the back pages, where the sports stars are supposed to be. Greg has always had a strong character and in terms of his tennis career I?m hoping this makes him more determined. Although he no longer holds the record for the world?s fastest serve, it still is the main weapon in his armour. In reality I think his best days are past him; he needs to work on his backhand, the weakness the majority of his opponents pick up on, although if he can produce the serve and volley game he is capable of, plus stay injury free, we might just see him competing with the worlds best again.

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