The important Next Gen ATP Finals match between Jakub Mensik and Arthur Fils took a strange turn when the former had to pass a doping test in the middle of the match.
The Czech had just lost the first two rounds against the favorite of this event bringing together the eight best hopes under the age of 22 in Tennis. He then headed to the bathrooms, and when he returned, he explained to the official that he had been ordered to perform a screening at that very moment.
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Visibly furious, Mensik convinced referee Nacho Forcadell to postpone the doping control to avoid disrupting the match.
The 19-year-old nevertheless lost the third set in 24 minutes, with a score of 4 to 2. The third seed was thus eliminated before even playing his third and final duel of the preliminary phase.
Tennis players have recently been under the microscope in doping cases with the cases of Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner. The World Anti-Doping Agency will not deliver its verdict until 2025 for the Italian, who tested positive for clostebol twice. The Polish woman, for her part, was suspended for a month in November.
