Battling for life, Paes faced doping charge but served ace to win match

The ITF, whose guilty-until-proven-innocent rule has attracted much criticism, gave him 10 days to clear his name. And, Paes told The Indian Express, it’s only his meticulous practice of keeping papers and following the rule that got him off the hook. ‘‘It’s the one thing that I’d like to forget because I was clean’’, he said last week.

Paes had taken ill during last year’s Wimbledon championship, where he’d collapsed three times on court. He was initially diagnosed with a viral cold infection and asked the official Wimbledon physician, Dr Tudor Miles, to treat him.

Miles prescribed a throat lozenge whose composition included an anaesthetic that is banned by the ITF if taken by injection. Its use does not invoke a suspension, as does nandrolone, but loss of prize money and points on the circuit. And severe loss of face.

Paes’s condition improved and he went on to win the Mixed Doubles with Martina. ONce back in Florida, though, the fever and headaches returned and he was admitted to hospital, where the ailment was diagnosed as a brain lesion.

And then came the double whammy from the ITF. The letter said he’d taken a banned anaesthetic and asked him to prove he took it under prescription and orally. Luckily, Paes said, he had the prescription — and Miles’s testimony carried weight, and he was absolved.

‘‘I’ve been on the pro circuit for quite some time now and am quite aware of the consequences in these cases’’, Paes said, indignant at the manner in which he’d been implicated. ‘‘I would only be a fool to do so.’’

The issue of players being accused of, and cleared of, doping has become a controversy in recent months. Last month, Greg Rusedski became the eighth player to be cleared after testing positive for banned substances administered to them in supplements by trainers from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

It’s an episode ‘‘that all sportspersons should learn from’’, he said, pointing to the loopholes in the ITF’s doping system. Indeed, Paes’s future hung by a thread: had he, for example, been treated by his father, a physician, and without a prescription, he’d have been in very hot water.

Having defended his reputation, Paes said, ‘‘Playing tennis seems to be my destiny. Come what may, I’ve managed to do that. God is with me.’’

So how does he see this whole episode? ‘‘More than wanting to forget this episode, it’s a lesson learnt.’’

What’s that? And Paes smiles: ‘‘Be attentive and ask if in doubt. Danger lurks around the corner.’’