Andy Murray "called for tennis to step up its war on doping as the sport tries to come to terms with Maria Sharapova’s suspension," according to Oliver Holt of the London DAILY MAIL.
Murray, who was tested when he arrived for the Monte Carlo Masters last week but had been tested just twice this year before that, said the fact Sharapova’s failed test at the Australian Open had been made public was "a positive" for tennis but urged the authorities to "invest more money in trying to catch the cheats." Murray said that "he had sometimes played matches against opponents and found himself wondering why 'they don’t seem to be getting tired' and admitted he had felt suspicious of some players because of rumours he had heard." Murray: "When someone like Sharapova is banned, I see that as being a positive. If that stuff is happening and you don’t hear about it, I have a big issue because it’s like the sport is covering up for the big stars. ... There’s so much money in tennis now. Why not invest way more in the doping program? The winners of tournaments are getting £700,000 ($993,000), yet the anti-doping program for the year is probably a few million dollars. So to protect the integrity of the sport it makes a lot more sense to invest more into anti-doping rather than putting it all into prize money" (DAILY MAIL, 4/16).
