First Doping Ban and Lengthy Suspension

Puerta’s 2005 French Open run, reduced sentence and admission of lying

The Argentine appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and had his ban cut to two years. He later admitted that he lied during his defense at the hearing.

Puerta made it to the 2005 French Open final but lost in four sets to Rafael Nadal...

Spanish tennis player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina said his coach, 2005 French Open finalist Mariano Puerta, left him mid-tournament during the French Open.

Davidovich Fokina, 26, had just defeated Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur in five sets in the first round when Puerta cut off all contact.

Rumors suggested Davidovich Fokina had fired Puerta after a training argument, but the world No. 23 denied it in an interview with Marca after losing to Thiago Agustin Tirante in the second round.

 “There was no fight with Puerta. After my match against Dzumhur, he told me he was going back to the hotel. Two hours later, I received a very long message from him saying he was leaving for good,” Davidovich Fokina revealed.

Puerta had also coached Brandon Nakashima and Laslo Djere before, and Davidovich Fokina said he later heard similar stories from both of them.

“He then took a flight to Miami without informing the rest of the team. Later, I heard he'd done the same thing to a couple of players before. It seems like this is normal for him. He's let us down as a person, and I'm not going to chase after him. He was the one who decided not to continue, at least until the end of the tournament. It's not my problem; he's an adult and can make his own decisions,” the Spaniard continued.

“We had a very good relationship. He has blocked both my wife and me. I considered him a good person until now. I don't wish him any harm, but I hope future players are careful when working with him.”