I’ve been woeful in blogging since I arrived in SW19, but here is a rapid-fire smattering of news bits I heard last week:

--A source close to injured Rafael Nadal says the player has been affected by his parent’s troubled marriage and plans to divorce, which was first reported in the English press by Tennis.com’s Peter Bodo and later confirmed by Spanish paper La Vanguardia. Nadal would never make such a claim, but he did mention “personal” troubles following his loss to Juan Martin Del Potro in Miami.

--If Federer reaches the final he will come to Wimbledon, regardless of what he’s saying to the press, according a broadcasting source.

--A major bone of contention during the ATP board meetings last week was, surprise surprise – the Davis Cup schedule. Players continue to be unhappy about the demands of the year-long nation-vs.-nation competition. They want it scaled back or revamped into a more condensed format.

--A highly placed IMG executive estimates that $30 million has been taken off the table in sponsorships in 2008 due to the crippled economy.

Meantime, here are a few highlights of my coverage for USA Today from last week:

Grand Slam Drought for U.S. Men

Five Setters

Vulnerable Serena

Larry Scott exit story

Roddick Kicks into Form

Size Matters

Better late than never. There were no major upsets Monday and little changed, so here we go:

Women's Singles:

Winner: Serena Williams

Finalist: Venus Williams

Considering the unreliable state of women’s tennis and that the Williams sisters have won seven of the last nine Wimbledons, it’s hard to pick against one of them bagging another. The tougher call is, which one? Although she has admitted it only sparingly, I think Serena’s loss to in last year’s final to Venus was particularly bitter. Family affections aside, you could see the revenge factor in her eyes and gesticulations as she fought off 10 set points (or was it 12?) against her older sibling at the U.S. Open semifinals on her way to the title. I think she wants it bad; it’s been six years since she won here; and let’s face it, she’s been the most consistent player on tour in big matches for the last 10 months.

The top half of the draw is led by No. 1 Dinara Safina, who says she doesn’t like grass (turf aversion apparently runs in the family) and who still has a Grand Slam chip on her shoulder after folding in the French Open final to Svetlana Kuznetsova. She has something to prove, and I see the Russian reaching her first semifinal in London. She will have to step it up against some tough competition, including 2006 champ Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round and a possible rematch with Kuznetsova in the last eight, if Kuzy gets by Caroline Wozniacki.

No. 3 Venus doesn’t have an easy path either, with confident Samantha Stosur in her round of 32 and then either slumping Jelena Jankovic or Na Li in the quarterfinals. I’m picking Li, who won’t have enough power to get past Venus. By the semifinals, Venus will be hitting her stride. Her defense will be too much for Safina, who will finally realize it’s grass underfoot and implode.

The weakest quarter is the top section of the lower half, with the likes of No. 4 Elena Dementieva, 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, French Open semifinalist Dominika Cibulkova and No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, who is recently back from injury. Suffice it to say, whoever emerges from this part of the draw – I’m going with Dementieva on seeding – will have little chance against their semifinals opponent.

The bottom quarter features No. 2 Serena Williams, who won her opener Monday. The 10-time major champ has a rough road, with 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Jie Zheng in the fourth round, and one of two big-hitters in the quarterfinals – rising Victoria Azarenka or 2004 champ Maria Sharapova. Serena wants it bad, and she’ll gut her way past either opponent for another look at the trophy with Venus standing in the way.

In a tough three-set final, Serena will deny her sister a sixth Wimbledon and win her third All-England Club championship, putting her one shy of idol Billie Jean King’s career total of 12 majors – just as Venus remains one trophy short of tying King’s mark of six singles titles.

After a two-year hiatus bunking in the city, I’m back staying in Wimbledon village this year and I must say it’s fun to be back in the thick of it, especially the first few days of the tournament. I saw the odd player here and there during my run yesterday and bumped into Robin Soderling’s coach, Magnus Norman, buying some provisions. It’s pleasant for a change to chat with folks in a casual, real-life environment as opposed to jostling to get a comment from them in the players lounge after wins and losses.

So here we go with my last-minute predictions -- with the women to follow later.

Men's Singles:

Winner: Murray

Finalist: Federer

So much is going for Federer: He’s finally conquered Paris; he’s on the surface where he has the biggest advantage against the rest of the field; he's motivated to tie Pete Sampras' major mark; he is in essence playing with house money after bagging a career Slam earlier this month; and of course, there is no Nadal to contend with. And yet, I’m just not feeling it for the Swiss Maestro. It's time to crown King Murray, despite his tender 22 years.

First, though, to the top half of the draw. As much as it would be nice for the hardworking American, Andy Roddick, to at least reach the final and perhaps come away with a second major, I think he matches up too poorly with Murray. I expect a fired-up Roddick to blast his way to the semifinals. Obstacles on the way include former Wimbledon junior champ Jurgen Melzer and the winner of Nikolay Davydenko and Tomas Berdych in the fourth round. If rising Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina reached the last eight – his grass court game is unproven – Roddick’s experience and drive will prevail.

Scot Murray has his own set of challenges in the bottom quarter, namely Stan Wawrinka or last year’s semifinalist Marat Safin (third round) followed by explosive Fernando Gonzalez or Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals. But Murray is a gamer on grass, and despite the ridiculous pressure on him to win here, he will use his guts and shotmaking repertoire to beat back the challenges and meet Roddick in the semifinals. Although Roddick has the bigger game, Murray is able to get the American's serve back and do damage with his own improving delivery. Once the ball is in play, Murray has a keen advantage, and he will use it to advance to his second Grand Slam final.

The highest seed in the top quarter of the bottom half is Novak Djokovic. The Serb has lost some of his swagger this year, and I'm picking a dark horse from this section: Either Marin Cilic or Tommy Haas. The long and powerful Cilic has a great game for grass, and the German veteran has been playing top-15 tennis of late. The winner of their third round clash will move on to take out James Blake and then Djokovic. I'm leaning towards Cilic for a breakout tournament.

Federer is in the toughest section of the draw, with streaky Philippe Kohlschreiber, big lefty Feliciano Lopez, French Open finalist Robin Soderling and the always-dangerous Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He could face another lefty, Fernando Verdasco, in the quarterfinals. It would not shock me if Federer went down to one of these players, especially if they get hot, but the Swiss No. 2 will be too experienced and determined to lose early on grass and will make it to the last four.

He will crush his opponent there --- either Cilic or Haas – and look primed for a sixth Wimbledon and third major in the 10 months. But Murray will have taken some lessons from his U.S. Open loss to Federer, and with a soccer-like backing from the home crowd the Scot will bring home Britain’s first major by a man in 73 years. 

Elena the Soothsayer

Next time I’m looking some crystal ball answers I’ll go to Elena Dementieva.

Here’s what the Russian No. 4 said the day before Rafael Nadal’s shocking upset in her post-match press conference:

Q.  Let me make you a little question about men's draw. Do you think that anybody could win or beat Nadal here? And in this case, who?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, it looks like he actually looks a little bit tired to me. Even he's winning pretty easily his first two rounds, it doesn't look like he's fresh enough. Maybe he was playing too much. I think it's going to be tough challenge for him to win this time, actually. 

Johansson Retirement Decision

I spoke on Sunday with 2002 Australian Open champ Thomas Johansson about his friend and man-of-the-moment Robin Soderling. “Rafa didn’t have his best day in the office but Robin made him play a little bit bad as well,” said Johansson. “Everybody knows that on a good day Robin can beat anyone. But I’m extremely impressed how he can beat Rafa on his best surface at his favorite tournament.”

In addition to glowing remarks about his compatriot, Johansson, 34, told me that he is going to decide whether to continue his career or retire in the next month. The former top-10 player had surgery on his heel in late October. Johansson had been working with Magnus Norman until the surgery, and kindly let Soderling slide in to be coached by the 2000 French Open runner-up. “I’m still working with my tennis to get my foot better but within 3-4 weeks I’m going to make a final decision.”

Mardy Fish says he’s the top-ranked male in the world – if you go by the combined ranking method. “Automatically I should be the best player,” Fish laughed after losing in the first round Tuesday to unheralded Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina in four sets. And in fact, he’s correct.

Fish is the only male in the top 25 in both singles and doubles (No. 24 and 20, respectively) and his combined ranking of 44 (24 + 20) is tops. According to ATP stat guru Greg Sharko, here is a list of the current combined top 5 in men’s tennis:

Here are the highest-ranked combined singles and doubles players on the ATP World Tour:

                                    Total Rank    Singles    Doubles

1) Mardy Fish                 No. 44         No. 24      No. 20

2) Fernando Verdasco      No. 52         No. 8        No. 44

3) Tommy Robredo         No. 60         No. 17      No. 43

4) Dmitry Tursunov         No. 64         No. 23       No. 41

5) Jurgen Melzer             No. 81         No. 26      No. 55  

“No one ever talks about it, but we talk about it in the locker room all the time,” said Fish.

Soviet Satellites Coming on Strong

A couple of years ago I wrote about the emerging gaggle of players from the countries that became independent after the fall of Soviet Empire. You know, the Latvias and Estonias and all the various Stans. The article here explains some of the reasons for the emergence of this block of nations.

What has struck me in Paris this year is not just the number of players from the Soviet satellites – 13 in the women’s draw, four in the men’s – but their rounding success over the first few days.

Eight of 13 women advanced out of the first round, some with impressive wins, such as Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko’s upset of No. 17 Patty Schnyder. All four men also moved into the second round.

As a group, these countries have a healthy entrant surplus on the American women (8) and are nearly as numerous as Russia (14), which has the second most players in women’s singles here after host France (19).

Some are becoming familiar names, such as Sony Ericsson Open winner and No. 9 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. But most are names you’ve never heard of, such as the towering Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan or 21-year-old Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan (both lost Wednesday). Soon, these Soviet castoffs could be making bigger names for themselves in tennis circles.

I spotted the always-dashing Tatiana Golovin zipping around at an adidas promotion yesterday and caught up with the former top 15 player who has been MIA from the WTA circuit for more than a year. Golovin didn’t use the word retirement, but it sounded as if her career could be over before her 22^nd birthday.

“I try not to think about it,” said the Russian-born Frenchwoman, who reached a ranking high of No. 12 in February 2008 before chronic back inflammation sidelined her career.

Golovin, who last played a singles match more than a year ago at Berlin (she lost in the first round to Caroline Wozniacki), is not hitting at all and trying a combination of rehab, treatment and rest to heal her back. It’s not an injury that surgery can cure and little has worked.

“It’s hard to handle, but we’re doing everything we can,” she said. “It’s such an important part of the body that you can’t come back unless you’re fully fit.”

The camera-loving player said she grew tired of setting deadlines for a return – deadlines she continually failed to meet. “Now, I’d just rather take my time and when the time is right I’ll come back,” she said. “It’s just that it’s been so long and the doctors aren’t telling me that there’s a certain time that it’s going to get better, so I have to keep my options open. If you’re body is giving up on you, you have to do your best and try to stay positive.”

Fittingly, Golovin is focusing her energies elsewhere. She’s dabbling in TV, taking classes and ramping up her charity work. She did some spots for Tennis Channel last week and is working for France 2 for Roland Garros, the official tournament broadcaster. She’s taking classes in international relations in London to be close to her boyfriend, the Arsenal soccer player Samir Nasri. And she wants to do more outreach work, which she has already started as an ambassador for the UNESCO-WTA joint program to promote gender equality.

Golovin, who reached the 2006 U.S. Open quarterfinals, owns two WTA titles, and has earned almost $2 million in prize money, still believes she can return. At 21, that's not unrealistic.  “No, I haven’t given up,” she said. 

Djoker Speaks About Head Commercial

I was among a small group of reporters with Novak Djokovic on Saturday when he was asked about his starring role in a recent and rather risqué commercial for Head. Djokovic admitted that much of it was unscripted and improvised, but not all of it played well at home.

“My mother reacted quite strange on that,” the No. 4 Serb said of the ad, which includes Djokovic ogling a female in the crowd, balancing a racket on his nose and a water-in-the-chair move a la Jennifer Beals in “Flashdance” – all while chasing down a ball in the stands. Oh yeah, and an elderly lady lubes his chest with baby oil. “It’s a very strange commercial,” he conceded with a chuckle.

But that’s not what irked his mother. “When she saw it, she laughed,” said Djokovic. “She liked the idea, the fun we had, the enjoyment we had making it. But she didn’t like the nipple thing.” To see what he’s talking about, click here.

Djokovic said he sat for an hour contemplating whether or not to perform the portion of the ad that apparently upset his mother. “I just imagined my mother giving me comments about it,” he said. At least he knows where Mom draws the line. Asked if he’d do another commercial like that, Djokovic said: “With the nipples, I don’t think (so).”

This year’s French Open is a tale of two tournaments. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal is as prohibitive a favorite as -- well, as Federer used to be coming into Wimbledon not so long ago. The women’s field, on the other hand, is clutter and chaos. Does anyone have the wherewithal to stand up and claim the title?

Men's Singles:

Winner: Nadal

Finalist: Djokovic

Last year I was clearly not in my right mind and gave the nod to Roger Federer, who gamely reached the final but then was munched and spit out by Nadal. The 22-year-old Spaniard has romped through another clay season, snatching titles at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome and piling up a 19-1 record on clay. I don’t put that much stock in his loss to Federer at Madrid, where altitude and energy played into Nadal’s result. If anything, Federer’s defeat of his rival on clay should help the Swiss No. 2’s flagging confidence heading into Paris (where he is more vulnerable in the early rounds) more than it presages a suddenly faltering Nadal.

Denying the No. 1 from Mallorca a record fifth straight Roland Garros crown will take a supreme performance or, perhaps, an injury. But wouldn’t it be deliciously ironic if Federer were to turn around from his devastating Wimbledon loss – a win that could have eclipsed Bjorn Borg’s record of five consecutive All-England Club titles -- and serve up Nadal the same rebuff at surpassing Borg’s record of four straight French Opens?

Of the big four, Nadal’s path to the semis might be the toughest, with a possible third-round matchup with the Lleyton Hewitt-Ivo Karlovic survivor (they meet in round one). Other claycourt demons lurking in his quarter include grinder David Ferrer, two-time Roland Garros semifinalist Nikolay Davydenko and steady Stan Wawrinka, not to mention No. 8 Fernando Verdasco, who nearly took out Nadal in the Melbourne semifinals. Nadal will, as expected, find a way to beat down all comers and face Murray in the semis, where he will smother the Scot with spin and physical play.

On the bottom half, Federer’s path is filled with semi-dangerous players that don’t excel on clay, among them No. 6 Andy Roddick and No. 15 James Blake. Last year’s semifinalist Gael Monfils is also in the Swiss No. 2’s quarter, but his health is an issue and Federer should prevail. There he will face Novak Djokovic, who will have to overcome a rough quarterfinal against No. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro. The No. 3 from Serbia has been the best and most consistent performer on clay this spring after Nadal, and he will put Federer’s quest for a Grand Slam title on terre battue on hold once again in a five-set semifinal victory.

Despite all the new faces in the top 10 – six versus this time last year (Murray, Del Potro, Gilles Simon, Verdasco, Tsonga and Monfils) – none will be a match for Nadal, who will handle Djokovic and become the first man or woman to win five consecutive French Open crowns.

Women's Singles:

Winner: Safina

Finalist: Dementieva

Who ever thought that picking someone from the Safin clan would be considered safe? But in the topsy-turvy world of women’s tennis, that’s exactly my choice. Yes, Dinara Safina. The WTA heads into the year’s second major a bit of a mess. 2002 Roland Garros champ Serena has a bum knee and has dropped her last four matches. Last year’s winner, Ana Ivanovic, seemed overwhelmed by her victory and hasn’t been the same player since. Ditto fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic, who’s push to finish 2008 at No. 1 seemed to undermine, not bolster, her form. Maria Sharapova hasn’t played enough to be a factor and Venus Williams never hits her stride in the City of Lights. At this rate, Kim Clijsters could probably return early from retirement and make a run.

Maybe one of the rising teens such as Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark or Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will shake the first-time jitters and come in motivated, hungry and poised enough to pull it off. Two former Russian finalists, the increasingly in-form Svetlana Kuznetsova and the always reliable Elena Dementieva, might make a dent. But really, who knows? Since being called out by Serena as the de facto No. 2, Safina has become the hottest player on tour, winning two big claycourt titles at Rome and Madrid while going 14-1. She is the best, albeit shaky, bet to claim her first Grand Slam crown.

On the top half, Safina could face a tricky third-round matchup with rising Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and then a stern test from No. 9 Azarenka in the fourth round. The other quarter is a toss up between the unpredictable Venus, nervy Amelie Mauresmo and former Roland Garros quarterfinalist Vera Zvonareva. The No. 6 from Russia will squeak through, but not hold up against Safina’s bruising game.

The bottom half is more of a crapshoot. I’ve learned never to count Serena out, but her movement on clay is suspect and with a gimpy knee and few matches under her belt, she’s vulnerable. Still, she should reach the fourth round, where she’ll fall to the suddenly confident Kuznetsova. 

In the other quarter, I expect Jankovic and Dementieva to meet after battling their way through some talented teens, including Alize Cornet and Wozniacki. It’s a gut call, but No. 4 Dementieva has been playing a high level across the board since winning the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. The 2004 finalist is ripe for a significant Grand Slam result. Unfortunately, I don’t see her crossing the finish line, and in a battle of nerves with Safina, the new No. 1 will affirm her status and silence the critics with her first major title.

If an American woman emerges with the trophy, it will mark a victory of quality over quantity. The U.S. has just eight entrants, among them wild card Lauren Embree, qualifier Carly Gullickson and Uzbekistan-born Varvara Lepchenko. That’s one fewer in the field than last year’s nine, which until now had been the lowest in the post-1968 Open era at the French Open.

In the aftermath of the Davydenko/Sopot gambling investigation, I wasn’t surprised to see a story about match fixing in tennis involving Russians. I was, however, amazed to see it so starkly laid out in print. A Wall Street Journal story published yesterday details the efforts of a 25-year-old Russian father of two who admits trying to rig WTA Tour matches. According to the piece, Dmitry Avilov makes a modest living betting entirely on tennis matches. He admits at one point to soliciting the Russian player Ekaterina Bychkova to throw a match – to no avail.

This kind of story must send shivers down the collective spine of authorities working to keep the game clean. It shows how vulnerable an individual, far-flung sport like tennis is to the corruptive forces of match fixing, especially with lower ranked players like No. 169 Bychkova. (What Avilov has to gain from making this admission to a reporter I have no idea, but kudos to Hannah Karp for teasing it out of him). 

A WTA spokesman told me that Avilov would, of course, be barred from any tournaments. But as the story reports, he can just as easily contact players through their individual websites or other venues – another potential breach in the ongoing battle against gambling. “Mr. Avilov says he ‘definitely’ intends to contact other players through online social-networking sites and if the opportunity presents itself, to ask them to fix matches,’” the story concludes. “‘My job is to understand these girls and to think like them.’”

Does tennis have a recreational drug problem? I ask this question, of course, on the heels of former top-10 player Richard Gasquet’s positive test for cocaine yesterday and, not far behind, Martina Hingis’ higher profile coke bust in late 2007, which sent the five-time major champ from Switzerland into retirement.

Tennis is no stranger to drug culture. Some big stars of the 1970s such as John McEnroe and Vitas Gerulaitis admitted using cocaine when they were playing (and when testing was far less stringent than it is today). Another, Bjorn Borg, was rumored to have been mixed up with drugs after leaving the sport. His fellow Swede, seven-time major winner Mats Wilander, suffered a three-month ban after testing positive for cocaine at Roland Garros in 1995.

Considering what we know about the potent mix of youth, money, travel, and fan worship, this should come as no surprise. It’s almost inevitable that ATP and WTA players that crisscross the globe and deal weekly with the highs and lows of world-class competition would be tempted to take a hit of something on occasion. Some are bound to get caught, especially now that tennis falls under the strict WADA anti-doping program.

“One thing go keep in mind is that tennis players are among the most tested athletes on the planet,” former No. 1 and occasional commentator Jim Courier told me by phone today. “If you tested the general population, you’d find issues out there too. Athletes are not immune, just like the general public.” Agreed. In fact, despite relying on their bodies so much, one could argue that athletes are more susceptible than your average Joe and Jane for the reasons I cited above.

In that vein, I decided to check on the number of doping violations for cocaine and cannabis, the two drugs besides alcohol most commonly considered “recreational.” According to the International Tennis Federation, since 2004 there have been 10 bans related to these substances for men and women, not including wheelchair players (yes, they can’t just say no all the time, either). Frenchman Gasquet, who was suspended Monday and will take his case to an ITF anti-doping tribunal in a couple of months, would be the 11^th.

In 2006, the ITF conducted 1,900 in and out of competition tests. Extrapolating from that figure (that is, an average of 1,900 tests per year), the number of recreational violations since 2004 is miniscule – 0.001 percent. For a couple of other reasons, I doubt tennis has a widespread doping problem. One, as mentioned, is that tennis falls under one of the strictest programs in existence with constant in and out of competition testing, even in the offseason. Two, the sport is nearly year round, which would seem to disincline players to cycle on and off steroids or experiment with party drugs. The risk of getting busted is high.

However, there is a bigger issue here. Should substances like pot and coke even be on the banned list? I don’t think so. If anything, they are performance detracting. And while certainly it does not do well for any sport’s athletes to be dabbling in illegal drugs (notwithstanding that marijuana is legal in some countries and illegal in others), players dabble in these two substances to their own possible detriment. What’s more, how come alcohol gets a free pass? Downing some beers before a match is probably little more performance enhancing than taking a bong hit or snorting white powder. Consuming a lot of alcohol in or out of competition probably has the same deleterious effect on one’s mind, body and ability to perform as the other aforementioned drugs. Um, John Daly anyone? I say if players want to booze it up or smoke joints or inhale lines, let them do so – they are adults and they do so at their own peril. Let the cops worry about them, not tennis authorities.

Courier, for one, was unwilling to divulge whether in his opinion pot and coke fall into the category of legitimate performance boosters. “I think tennis needs to provide a unified front against any kind of performance enhancers, which I don’t have the expertise to define. Do I sound like a lawyer?” he laughed. The four-time major winner and senior circuit owner lauded tennis for “doing its best to present a clean face to the world. Tennis is disappointed when it catches some one, but it’s positive that it’s being strict and adamant about the sport.”

Herewith is a list of the cocaine and cannabis doping violations since 1995 (per the ITF):

ITF

1995 Roland Garros Karel Novacek (CZE) Cocaine Class II - 3 month ban and forfeiture

1995 Roland Garros Mats Wilander (SWE) Cocaine Class II - 3 month ban and forfeiture

1999 Australian Open - Larisa Neiland (RUS) Caffeine Class III warning (no ban)

2003 US Open Wheelchair Tennis, San Diego Miles Thompson (USA) Cocaine Class II - 3 month ban and forfeiture

2005 Swiss Satellite, Montreux Holger Fischer (GER) Cannabis - “Specified substance” 3 month ban and forfeiture

2004 Sydney ITF Wheelchair tournament Travis Moffat (NZL) Cannabis 6 month ban and forfeiture

2004 Nottingham ITF Wheelchair tournament Jamie Burdekin (GBR) Cocaine 2 year ban and forfeiture

2005 US Open Wheelchair Tennis, San Diego David Buck (USA) Cannabis - “Specified substance” 3〓 month ban and forfeiture

2005 Swiss Satellite, Montreux Holger Fischer (GER) Cannabis - “Specified substance” 3 month ban and forfeiture

2005 Vancouver Challenger Ryan Newport (USA) - Cannabis “Specified substance” 2 month ban and forfeiture

2007 Gerry Weber Open, Germany Franz Stauder (GER) Cannabis “Specified substance” 2 month ban and forfeiture

2007 Wimbledon, London Martina Hingis (SUI) - Cocaine 2 year ban and forfeiture

2007 Metz (qualifying) Maximilian Abel (GER) Cocaine 2 year ban and forfeiture

2007 Puebla Challenger Marcel Felder (URU) Cannabis 2 month ban and forfeiture

ATP

2002 Basle Martin Rodriguez (ARG) Caffeine Class III warning (no ban)

2004 Vina Del Mar Diego Hipperdinger (ESP) Cocaine - 2 year ban and forfeiture

2004 Vina Del Mar (qualifying) Nicolas Coutelot (FRA) Cannabis / Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) “Specified substance” - 2 month ban and forfeiture

2004 Bucharest Simon Larose (CAN) - Cocaine 2 year ban and forfeiture

2004 Phoenix, Mauritius Challenger Melle Van Gemerden (NED) Cannabis 2 month ban and forfeiture

WTA

2002 Acapulco Lourdes Dominguez-Lino (ESP) Cocaine Class II - 3 month ban and forfeiture

NB: Maximum ban for Class I abuse increased to 2 years in 2000.