Topic: Tennis

Murray has got the game to beat Djokovic but he needs to play his best and Djokovic needs to have a drop in form. Kerber was so happy your right she beat some great players along the way. Konta should also be pleased she lost to the champion.

With another Australian Opening title this year, and going back to the start of last year, Djokovic is 34-1 in the Grand Slams. Serena Williams has rightly been a huge story because of all she's accomplished and the fact she's chasing history but there isn't a more dominant tennis player right now than Djokovic. It will be interesting to see where he ends up when the year is over. He should get at least one of these next 3. I'm not counting out Nadal finding his old form at Roland Garros this May, however. I also still think Federer is going to get one more Grand Slam before he retires. He's actually playing as well as he ever has, Djokovic is just playing out of his mind. A player as great as Federer will eventually break through if he keeps creating opportunities for himself.

I enjoyed it as well, that was probably one of my favorite things in that game. I can't believe how much depth they put into it.

So I thought Sharapova was going to announce that she was going to retire. Lot more shocking to see she failed a drugs test. Such a high profile player failing a test really damages the sport.

Yup. Is there any precedent for such a high-profile sports person like Sharapova arranging their own press conference to announce something like this? Pretty insane.

EDIT: Having said that, she does seem very honest in her announcement, so while there will undoubtedly be repercussions, I hope she's not banned or anything like that.

Honestly I am so sick of athletes using proformance enhancers it's one reason I don't pay attention to professional sports to often. What surprises me is when an you can tell an athlete has been using them like in the case of Barry Bonds or Mark McGuire and people act all surprise.

@Tasuki: @get2sammyb: @dryrain: By all accounts its a medicine that was legal in early 2015 but is on the banned list in 2016.

I'm a bit sceptical about the seriousness, she was taking it whilst she was injured.

@Tasuki: @themcnoisy: @dryrain: Yeah, definitely not a performance enhancer here, sounds like it's a newly banned medicine or something. I mean, she could be telling porkies, but she genuinely seems like she didn't know.

@get2sammyb: She could very well be innocent, I don't know as like I said I don't follow sports a whole lot. I was just saying in general. Also what gets me is people give WWE crap about juiced up Superstars, but NFL players or MLB players people act all blind to it.

@Tasuki: I do agree with your point in general, though. If someone knowingly takes performance enhancers, I simply don't know how they can ever feel pride in their achievements.

I understand professional sport comes with insane pressure, but for me personally, I'd feel like a fraud if I won tournaments or competitions knowing I'd cheated. The worst part about it all is you're not just cheating your competitors and your profession, but you're also cheating yourself.

@get2sammyb: Right. I understand where they are coming from pressure wise. Those athletes income is all based on their proformance, how many homeruns the hit, how many touchdowns they score, how fast they knock their opponents out etc. No one is going to want to pay for an athlete who strikes out all the time or cant run a yard without being tackled. And sponsors pull out if they hit a slump and what not so I can understand the pressure. Especially if a bonus means supplying their family.

I don't really care about athletes using performance enhancers or not. Unfair edge? Sure, but it seems in most sports a good number of the top stars are using something to get ahead so I tend to just not be bothered by it. I think the story that came out during the Aussie Open about match fixing was and still is a much bigger deal. Of course, news like Sharapova failing a drug test certainly doesn't help matters.

@Gamer83: "Sure, but it seems in most sports a good number of the top stars are using something to get ahead so I tend to just not be bothered by it."

But what about normal people who dont want to take drugs, have blood transfusions and have hormones blasted into them? Do they have to by default? Its not as cut and dry. I used to play Rugby and a third of the lads took steds. Got to a point I couldn't compete.

Maybe have a sport for druggies and a sport for clean athletes. But do you want your kids looking up to performance enhanced freaks?

@themcnoisy:
Don't have kids and don't ever plan on it so that's not really a question I have any right answering. All I can speak for is myself. I watch sports to be entertained. Now if I know somebody is cheating, I do tend to look at them a little differently but at the end of the day they're hurting themselves more than anybody else for a short term gain. All I ask is if an athlete on one of my favorite teams is going to cheat, don't be a freaking idiot about it.

@Gamer83: "they're hurting themselves more than anybody else"

But it does, in the Eastern Block people were forced onto drugs, allowing p.e.ds will turn into a game of who has the best pharmacist. Here's a thought - how many cyclists missed a stage win at the tour de France due to cheats like Lance Armstrong ? How many good Baseball players didn't play the major leagues due to cheats like Barry Bonds? If they didn't cheat would they even have been a professional.

Bear in mind - I left my Rugby team due to a number of teenagers jabbing up on steds. Is that right?

Trust me on this - Rugby is infested with sted heads.

Regardless if you are caught or admit to doping or being involved in doping it should be an automatic life time ban from all sport.

Sharapova had been taking it since 2006 for health reasons. But it has been known for a long time to aid performance. She was warned it was added to the banned list but did not read the message/letter. It was only banned recently but she really should have paid attention to what was going into her body. The ban can vary between 2 and 4 years. If she took it intentionally then its a 4 year ban if it was taken by accident or without knowledge then its a 2 year ban. Either way can not see her coming back to tennis. Even if she somehow got a 2 year ban she would be starting at the bottom of the rankings and would take a long time to get back up into the top of the sport she would be playing all the low level events which I can not imagine she would want to do.

I do not think there will be much sympathy on the tour for her she is not a very well liked player and did not make friends on tour. She has a lot of interest outside sport. However this will have done the brand a lot of damage. Its fine to be sorry but breaking the rules is breaking the rules. If you are at the top of your game you have a responsibility to the sport, sponsors and fans to act in a way that does not damage the sport. After all her success and raising the profile of the game she has now damaged it. Its what tennis does not need after the match fixing allegations.

So Maria Sharapova has been suspended for two years for doping.

At 29, you have to imagine that's borderline career over for her. I doubt they freeze rankings if you get banned, so she'd have to work her way back up, too. She'd be pushing 32/33 before she got back to where she was.

Do-able, but...

@get2sammyb: Do-able? is that Sharapova??