ITF says Cilic pulled out of Wimbledon to avoid 'adverse publicity' from failed drug test

Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic had reportedly pulled out of this year's Wimbledon tournament citing a knee injury in order to avoid the 'adverse publicity' from a failed drugs test.

Cilic was banned for nine months last week for testing positive for a banned supplement nikethamide after taking Coramine glucose tablets purchased at a pharmacy in Monte Carlo.

According to Sport24, Cilic pulled out of the his Grand Slam match against France's Kenny de Schepper on June 26 although he cited a knee injury as the reason, adding that there was speculation the hardness of Wimbledon's courts was behind the unusual number of injury-enforced pull-outs.

However, the independent anti-doping tribunal of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said that Cilic, who played and won his first round match at Wimbledon on June 24, withdrew from Wimbledon, citing a knee injury to avoid adverse publicity

The tribunal further stated that Cilic's lawyers voluntarily accepted on the tennis player's behalf a provisional suspension until a decision in the case, and waiving his right to analysis of the B sample, adding that Cilic could have checked on the Internet before taking the tablets even though he claimed that did not understand French.

The tribunal further dismissed Cilic's theories that he was under stress due to problems between his coach and his parents, saying that conditions in the 'highest echelons' of professional sport are inherently stressful.