| Mariano Puerta |
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CAREER Puerta made his debut on the ATP Tour in 1997 . He won his first ATP title in 1998 in Palermo , Italy . In 2000 he reached what most consider the peak of his career, making it to five finals, and winning one of them ( Bogotá ). That same year, however, he underwent Wrist Surgery , which kept him off the circuit for several months. Besides not recovering his previous playing level, in 2004 he was sanctioned for 9 months for a Doping offense (see section on Doping Controversies ). Owing to the suspension he missed most of the 2004 season, and by August 2004 his world ranking had dropped to 440. He was reduced to playing Challenger-level tournaments for a while until he had earned enough points to return to the ATP Tour. In 2005 Puerta made an eye-opening comeback on the Tour by winning the title in Casablanca and then making it to the final of the world's most prestigious clay court tournament, the French Open , where he eventually succumbed to Rafael Nadal in a close match (7-6(6), 1-6, 3-6, 5-7). By August 2005 he had climbed to a career-best 9th place in the ATP entry rankings, an advancement of 431 places in one year. In December 2005 he was, again, suspended for a doping offense, this time for 8 years, effectively ending his professional career. Puerta is left-handed and uses a one-handed backhand. He is a clay court specialist with a game that revolves around groundstrokes with heavy topspin. On fast surfaces his game is compromised by his comparatively weak serve and slow court speed. His three ATP titles so far were all won on clay. DOPING CONTROVERSIES In 2003 Puerta received a two-year doping suspension after testing positive for Clenbuterol at Viña Del Mar . In his defense he argued that the substance had been administered to him by his doctor to combat Asthma and that it had no performance-enhancing effect. The sanction was subsequently reduced to nine months suspension and a US$ 5600 fine. In 2005, he was once again banned, this time after he tested positive for the use of the Cardiac stimulant Etilefrine . The suspension was for 8 years, the longest so far in tennis history. The International Tennis Federation tribunal stated, however, that "The amount of etilefrine in his body was too small to have any effect on his performance" {Link without Title} . Puerta has vowed to appeal, claiming on his web site that he only ingested trace amounts of it accidentally left over by his wife in a glass. Since at the time of the sanction he was 27 years old, should it be confirmed, this would effectively end his professional career. He has also has his results disqualified from every event from the 2005 French Open onwards, and has forfeited all his entry ranking points and prize money. Since he had recently lost the French Open final to Spain's Rafael Nadal, that signifies a loss of €443,282 (£300,671, $ 456,000). TITLES (6) Singles (3) Singles Finalist (7)
Doubles (3)
Performance timeline EXTERNAL LINKS
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