 Gasquet pictured arriving at the hearing in Lausanne |
Richard Gasquet is expected to learn within the next four weeks whether he will receive a tougher ban for "inadvertently" taking cocaine. Gasquet received a 12-month ban in May, but in July was cleared to return to the circuit by an independent tribunal. The 23-year-old Frenchman has played 17 matches since returning in August. However, the International Tennis Federation wants the Frenchman to receive a longer ban and has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Tuesday's hearing on the appeal, which Gasquet attended, took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a decision is likely in early December. "Everything went as expected and Richard Gasquet has, of course, had his chance to speak," Cas secretary-general Matthieu Reeb said after the seven-hour hearing. "Now the arbitrators will begin their deliberations, which are going to take around three to four weeks until a final judgment will be communicated to the parties." Gasquet has previously said that the drug got into his system after he kissed a woman in a nightclub in Miami. The tribunal supported his claim and felt that because "no more than a grain of salt" was recorded in the sample a long ban would have been an injustice. Unhappy with the ruling, the ITF, who wanted a one to two-year ban, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) appealed to Cas against the tribunal's decision. Gasquet tested positive following a urine sample at the Sony Ericsson Open in Florida in March, after he withdrew from the tournament because of a shoulder injury.
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