ATP rivals support Kendrick in dope ban fight

Some of Robert Kendrick's fellow ATP players are rallying behind the 31-year-old American in the wake of a one-year doping ban handed down last week by the International Tennis Federation. Kendrick tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine at the French Open in May. He claimed to have ingested the substance when he took a diet pill, Zija, to combat jet lag. While accepting his story, the ITF said players are responsible for any substance in their body and imposed a ban until next May, although an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport could see that timeframe reduced. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous he has gotten a year ban," American Ryan Sweeting said after a first-round ATP Washington Classic victory Tuesday. "I've been in touch with him. We've been speaking every day. "For a 31-year-old to take one diet pill and receive a year ban, I just don't understand the logic behind it. All the players wonder what is going on." While admitting players do bear responsibility for what they ingest, Sweeting said that players wonder how some receive lesser punishments for what could be considered worse violations. "The punishment he received, compared to punishments other players have received, is absolutely absurd," Sweeting said. American Wayne Odesnik "got caught smuggling performance-enhancing drugs into another country (Australia) and he got six months," he added. Odesnik, whose two-year ban last year was reduced to seven months for participating in an ITF programme, is set to play his first ATP match since the ban was imposed, in a second-round Washington matchup on Wednesday. Sweeting also cited a revoked 2.5-month ban on Frenchman Richard Gasquet in 2009 after a positive test for cocaine that Gasquet said came from a kiss at a Miami nightclub. James Blake, an American who reached the third round Tuesday, was also unhappy at Kendrick's fate. "To put him out for a year, for all intents and purposes end his career, is pretty harsh," Blake said. "To go out this way I don't think is fair, especially when we've got a guy in this tournament (Odesnik) who I think has done a lot worse." Blake said there is little sympathy for Odesnik among his compatriots. "I wouldn't say he's at our dinner table too often," Blake said. "I don't agree with what he did." There is a "Free Kendo" Facebook page and Bosnian Amer Delic posted his support for Kendrick on Twitter. "Common sense should prevail," Delic said on the popular micro-blogging website. "My friend and colleague has been treated really really unfairly." Sweeting noted that Kendrick, who is ranked 106th in the world, is dogged by injuries, something that most performance-enhancing drugs help players avoid so they can build larger muscles. "You can see it," Sweeting said. "He is injured nearly every week. He is clearly not the most physical tennis player. "It's sad this had to happen."