Novak Djokovic expressed shock at the fact that representatives from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requested control before his match with Cameron Norrie.

Djokovic won 6-4, 6-4, securing the second point and thus a place in the semifinals for Serbia, despite a less-than-pleasant start to the match.

“I haven’t undergone a complete doping control yet; I need to give blood. I had a brief discussion with people from the anti-doping agency. I couldn’t believe they made such a decision. In over 20 years of my career, it has never happened to me that an hour and a half before the match, I have to go for a doping control. I have my routine; I don’t need that distraction, them taking my urine and blood, me wondering whether I can give urine at that moment,” said Novak and added:

“An illogical situation and decision. They told me that one of the important reasons for that decision was that it would end late, so they wanted to give us more time to rest, but there was a day off… People from the anti-doping agency didn’t want to stay late; that was the other reason.”

Djokovic continued in one breath:

“I support being tested, whether it’s me or anyone - a hundred times, it’s not a problem, but not before a match. When I finish, come, test me. I haven’t seen any reason or logic, but that’s what it is - now I will draw blood, but I hope they will change such decisions. What they did is shameful. Interestingly, WADA is a private company; there should be a discussion about whether we should have our agency within the tennis ecosystem, instead of hiring someone from the outside… It will probably be misunderstood, but this is unprecedented; there are some limits and understanding, and they behave as if they don’t understand anything about what’s happening here, that this is a sport, but only ‘let’s do it, what’s the big deal, you just have to give blood, pee.’”