“I will be back.”
On July 25th, 2013, a tick over one year to this day, Viktor Troicki was handed an 18-month participation ban by the International Tennis Federation. The reason? Troicki, then the world no. 53, had failed to provide a blood test after losing to Jarkko Nieminen at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier that year.
The Serbian was unwell that day, and claims that upon consulting the doctor who was attempting to carry out the test, he was told that it would be alright to postpone the test until the following morning. They proceeded as such, and Troicki passed the test – as he had with all others in his career – but that wasn’t the end of it. The ITF come down hard on Troicki, launching an investigation aiming to stop him from competing for a full two years due to refusing the test.
The case centred on the conversation had between Troicki and the doctor, Elena Gorodilova. According to the official report released by the ITF concerning the results of the investigation, “He (Troicki) asserted to an independent tribunal that he was assured by the Doping Control Officer (DCO) that it would be acceptable not to provide a sample on account of him feeling unwell that day.” At the end of the day, the word of Gorodilova was taken over Troicki’s, and an 18-month ban was slapped on the Belgrade native. A subsequent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport brought about a six month reduction on the ban, but there was a lack of evidence needed to fully overturn the original decision.
This mired Viktor, giving him no option but to look his ranking points slip away, week by week. Slowly but surely, the Serb drifted into the background of the tennis scene, only appearing in cameos when comments were made by various tennis figures concerning his plight, some positive (Djokovic, Ivanisevic), some negative (Murray). By mid-March this year, Troicki was no longer a top 100 player, and at the latest ranking update he was 847th, with his 2013 Umag second round points all he had left to his name.
Novak Djokovic did all he could to help his long-time friend through this hardship, inviting him to train with him, and Troicki also went to study sports management in Belgrade. However, he is first and foremost a tennis player. It’s what he has always done and what he wants to continue doing. He began focusing on his return to the tour, training with his coach relentlessly to prepare for the day he was allowed back on court.
“It’s nice to be back.”
In an interview with doubles player, Christopher Kas, Troicki opened with those words - an understatement after the year he has gone through. He is now 28 years old, the world no. 847, and faces a lot of uncertainty about his path back to the money-end of the ATP tour; but he is smiling. He was awarded a wildcard into the main draw at the Suisse Open in Gstaad, “I’m really grateful to the organisers that they gave me a wildcard”, he proclaimed, “It’s a lovely tournament, I’m really happy to be here”. His first match back was no easy feat – Dominic Thiem. “I’d never seen him before because I was out for 12 months”, Troicki said with a sheepish grin on his face. Troicki, rather surprisingly, made a winning start to his comeback, defeating Thiem 7-6(4) 6-4: “It was a great outcome, and I’m happy that I won”. Andrey Golubev was his next opponent, and Troicki defeated the Kazakh 6-3 6-4, setting up a quarter-final clash with Fernando Verdasco. The comeback halted there, with the Spaniard winning 6-4 6-7(7) 6-1, however for Troicki, his return was akin to winning the tournament.
The journey won’t be easy, he may have received a generous offer from the Gstaad organisers, however not everyone will be as forgiving to the Serb. He will have to scrounge, play Challengers and perhaps even Futures tournaments. He will have to grind his way back, day by day, but he has the support of his coach, and the motivation to succeed. Guilty or otherwise, Viktor Troicki has returned, and it won’t be long before he graces the world stage on a regular basis.