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Former top-10 player Marin Cilic has been suspended nine months for a doping violation.
The ban was backdated to May 1, so Cilic can return to competition Jan. 31, the International Tennis Federation said Monday.
Cilic tested positive for nikethamide, a stimulant, at a tournament in Munich last spring. The ITF said it accepted the player's contention that he ingested the substance inadvertently in glucose tablets and was not trying to cheat.
As a result, the ITF gave him a reduced penalty rather than a ban of up to two years.
Cilic plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He said in a statement that he purchased the tablets at a pharmacy in France.
"I wish to emphasize that I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any banned substances in my life and that I am opposed to any use of performance-enhancing substances in sport," Cilic said.
The 24-year-old from Croatia has not played since withdrawing from his second-round match at Wimbledon in June, citing a knee injury. Cilic will be ineligible for the Australian Open in January.
Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/9681228/marin-cilic-suspended-9-months-doping-violation
