Andy Murray wants tennis to spend more on anti-doping measures
Friday 13 November 2015 15:37, UK
Andy Murray has warned the tennis authorities that they need to spend more in order to prevent a doping scandal in the sport.
The British No 1 does not want to see tennis suffer the sort of problems that are currently rocking athletics, after a WADA-commissioned report this week accused Russia of running a state-sponsored doping programme.
Murray believes the best way to do this is to allocate more resources to anti-doping measures in order to stop cheats.
Live Tennis: ATP World Tour Finals
Murray told the Daily Mail: "I follow that stuff all the time. What has happened with Russia is really bad, but I don't think it's just a Russia problem or just an athletics problem.
"It's up to the governing bodies just how much they want to tackle it because with the amount of money and profit sport actually makes, there needs to be enough spent on anti-doping.
"The prize money we have in tennis is extremely high and we need to look at how much we are spending on this area.
"I'm not an expert, I don't know what is enough and I don't know what other sports do, but in tennis we should be doing as much as we can.
"On the day the Russia report came out, I had to do a urine and blood test at seven in the morning, which is great. You want to make sure that it is done properly and even if someone is a big name or their country is very wealthy, their name should come out and they get punished properly. I'm all for more drug testing, the more the better.
"This year, it feels like I've been tested more than I've ever been, which is good. It's probably more than 20 times and less than 30."
Roger Federer also believes tennis players should undergo more tests, saying he is still surprised when he walks off court and is not routinely asked to provide a doping sample.
"I think they are trying their most but we can do more," said the 34-year-old.
"Whenever you make the quarter-finals of a tournament, when the points are greater, the money is greater, you should know that you will be tested.
"I think that would be very clear and simple. And if they keep the tests for longer, I'm all for that, not just weeks and months, years I'm talking about. That's the way to scare people."
