Nadal dismisses drug rumours

Rafael Nadal must put aside off-court controversy as he prepares for tomorrow’s Wimbledon quarter-final meeting with Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.

The Spaniard has reacted angrily to newspaper reports in France and Switzerland linking him to the doping scandal which has rocked the Tour de France.

Pre-race favourites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were among 13 riders withdrawn by their teams after they were implicated in a Spanish police investigation into a blood-doping operation in Madrid.

The investigation centres on links between riders and a Spanish doctor, Eufemiano Fuentes, after anabolic steroids, frozen blood and blood transfusion equipment were discovered in raids by Spanish police.

International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid said: “Only riders have been named so far, but many footballers, tennis players and athletes are on the list.”

Nadal, speaking after reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, said: “I have never taken anything in my life and I never will.

“I am well enough educated in the sporting world and outside not to cheat.

“People who write lies about other people are bad people. There is nothing more to say about this. He is a coward. He should sign what he writes.

“My manager is speaking to my lawyers.”

Nadal defeated Georgia’s Irakli Labadze 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 and Nieminen beat Russian Dmitry Tursunov 7-5 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7.