French tennis player Richard Gasquet will learn within a month if he has been banned after testing positive for cocaine. Gasquet told the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday that he failed a drug test in March because he kissed a woman in a nightclub who contaminated him with cocaine. He was suspended for 2 1/2 months, but the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Tennis Federation appealed to CAS to give him a doping ban of at least one year. CAS secretary-general Matthieu Reeb said a verdict is expected in early December. "Everything went as expected and Richard Gasquet has, of course, had his chance to speak," 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." That would allow Gasquet, who was suspended for the French Open and Wimbledon, to prepare for the Australian Open in January if he is cleared by the CAS panel of three lawyers. "That is part of their considerations," Reeb told The Associated Press. Gasquet declined to speak as he left court. While lawyers for the ITF described the process as "very good and very fair." Continued... |