"Disgusting, shameful and completely unjustified" - Novak Djokovic being subjected to doping test before Davis Cup match angers Marion Bartoli

Former tennis pro Marion Bartoli has spoken out about World No. 1 Novak Djokovic being subjected to a doping test just 90 minutes before his match at the 2023 Davis Cup.

Djokovic and his team refused to participate in an unannounced doping test just before Serbia's quarterfinal clash against Great Britain at the team tournament on November 23. The anti-doping controller subsequently followed the Serb for hours, eventually conducting blood and urine tests after his win against British No. 1 Cameron Norrie.

Marion Bartoli, an admirer of Djokovic for several years, recently chimed in on the matter in the RMC Sports' show Les Grandes Gueules du Sport. The former Wimbledon champion expressed confusion over the benefit of taking the test before the match.

She also criticized the British press, calling the incident 'disgusting, shameful, and completely unjustified.'

"When you know you're going to have a doping test, you have someone following you all day. As soon as you leave the court, he follows you; he's in the locker room when you take your shower. And if you can't go to the bathroom, he accompanies you to a press conference until you can urinate," Bartoli said via We Love Tennis.

"So I don't see what difference it makes whether it's done before or after, especially since after the matches the urinary concentration is greater because during the match there is a dehydration effect. The “trial” that we tried to do against Djokovic is linked to this British press which knows nothing, and which allows itself to accuse the players, it’s disgusting, it’s shameful and completely unjustified," she added.

Check out Bartoli's comments below:

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Novak Djokovic on the unannounced doping test: "In 20 and more years of my career, it never happened"

Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals

Novak Djokovic was enraged by the unexpected doping test and gave his thoughts during a press conference.

The 36-year-old said he never had to undergo such tests minutes before a match in his 20-year career. He also said the incident would have interrupted his 'routine,' which he did not need.

"I didn't believe that they could make such a decision; in 20 and more years of my career, it never happened to me that an hour-and-a-half before the match, I needed to go for doping control," he told Serbian reporters.

"I have my own routine — I don't need that distraction, to have my urine and blood taken, to think about whether I can give urine at that moment," he added.

Team Serbia eventually lost its chance to lift its second Davis Cup trophy as it was defeated in the semifinals by eventual champions Italy. The Balkan nation had previously won the title in 2010.