Football
Associated Press 17y

French Open drug tests moved to Montreal from Chatenay-Malabry

PARIS -- Drug tests at the French Open will be handled at a
lab in Montreal rather than the Chatenay-Malabry lab in France.

French officials said the decision was made to save money and
increase the number of tests and not a reflection on the French
lab, which is under scrutiny for its handling of Tour de France
winner Floyd Landis' samples.

The International Tennis Federation oversees drug-testing at the
Grand Slam tournaments. The French Open runs May 27 to June 10.

"It's the ITF which is responsible for the anti-doping controls
and they have an agreement with Montreal," French tennis
federation spokesman Thibault Fraix-Burnet said Wednesday by
telephone. "Chatenay (Malabry) is more expensive than Montreal,
which allows the federation to carry out more tests, more random
tests, not just during competition but also during training."

The ITF said the cost of analyzing a sample at the Canadian lab
was $190, including shipping. The same tests would cost $376 at the
French lab.

"The savings will allow the ITF to raise the number of
anti-doping controls throughout the year," the ITF said in a
statement, adding that the number of urine controls at this year's
French Open would increase to 180, compared to 157 last year.

The French lab handled the tests indicating Landis tested
positive for elevated testosterone to epitestosterone levels during
last year's Tour. Landis denies doping and accuses the lab of
mishandling his samples. His arbitration hearing began this week in
California.

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