Viktor Troicki’s doping ban reduced to 12 months by CAS panel

Johannesburg – Serbian tennis player Viktor Troicki’s 18-month doping ban has been reduced to 12 months by The Court of Arbitration for Sport.

According to Sport24, the Swiss-based tribunal said that while its appeals panel had rejected the former world number 12’s call to void the sanction, it ruled that there was no indication that he had sought to get away with doping.

It said in a statement that the player had committed a doping offence, but that his fault was not significant.

Troicki, a Davis Cup winner in 2010, turned to the CAS in August in a drive to overturn his ban which was handed down by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the report said.

The sanction, imposed in July came after he was found guilty of failing to provide a blood sample during a drugs test at the Monte Carlo Masters, the report added.

However, despite the reduction in the ban, Troicki will now play no part in Serbia’s attempt to regain the Davis Cup from the Czech Republic which begins on November 15, the report further said.

The 27-year-old maintained that anti-doping officials at the tournament had told him his urine sample was sufficient, given that he did not feel well enough to provide a blood sample, according to the report.