Tennis: Beleaguered Korda accused of faking injury

By Foster Niumata

MELBOURNE - For someone who was not made for the spotlight, Petr Korda can't escape it.

Resented by many of his tennis peers after a positive test for a steroid, the gangly, razor-edged Czech, who looks like a dislocated pinkie, found more trouble yesterday in the first round of his defence of the Australian Open title that used to be his main claim to fame.

Unheralded Galo Blanco, after losing a 3h 45m slugfest that was draining just to watch, refused to shake Korda's hand, accusing Korda of faking an injury in the third set as an excuse to rest.

"It wasn't true he was injured," said Blanco.

He could not believe how Korda could run harder after the time-out. Blanco was injured himself, aggravating an abdominal strain when he led 4-1 in the fourth set.

Korda won 6-3 6-7 6-4 6-7 6-2 and said he was hurt in the third set when he rolled his ankle. Seven minutes passed between his fall and when he resumed playing.

"I was just purely fighting the best I can to stay alive," said Korda, the first defending champion to return unseeded. He will play another Spaniard next, Julian Alonso.

"The ankle is swollen and it hurts. I have never defended such a big title and I'm just trying to do the best I can."

As he did at the ATP Tour players' meeting on Saturday night, Korda declined to discuss his dope test result. Without that, he would have retired, but it was not the positive note he wanted to finish on.

He tested positive to nandrolone at Wimbledon, and the International Tennis Federation is appealing against the leniency of Korda's penalty, a fine rather than the usual ban, because of "exceptional circumstances" which have yet to be explained to the players.

Korda is seeking a High Court injunction against the ITF decision to challenge its appeals committee finding to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

All the facts should emerge when the appeals process is complete in May.

Some, like Andre Agassi, are giving Korda the benefit of the doubt for now, while others like Pat Rafter, Jonas Bjorkman and Jim Courier believe if he cannot explain the steroid's presence, he should be serving the minimum 12-month suspension.

Courier gave the issue a stir when he suggested adding new tests for blood doping that was the scourge of the cycling Tour de France. He believed it was more prevalent in tennis than steroid-taking.

"I'm throwing darts, I have no proof," said Courier, whose claims were pooh-poohed by Agassi and ATP player council president Todd Martin.