Haas tests over 'poisoning' claim

LONDON, England -- German tennis star Tommy Haas is to have further tests to determine if he was poisoned during their Davis Cup semifinal defeat to Russia in September.

Haas, who is based in the United States, wants to get to the bottom of rumors that surfaced after he was laid low ahead of the final day of the match in Moscow.

Germany led the home team 2-1 but a violent stomach upset saw Haas pull out of the reverse singles, which were both won by the home team.

Haas's Davis Cup team-mate Alexander Waske claims he was told by an unidentified Russian informant that the illness which forced Haas to miss a crucial rubber against Mikhail Youzhny was caused by deliberate poisoning.

Haas told German newspaper Bild: "I sat - or better laid - six hours on the toilet. I have never felt so miserable in my life - I was really scared."

Doubles specialist Waske sparked the controversy when he said: "I spoke with a Russian from Moscow at the Davis Cup. He said completely casually that Haas had been poisoned."

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) are also investigating Waske's claims and stress that if the allegations are proved they will treat the matter very seriously.

Defending champions Russia are due to play the United States in the Davis Cup final in Portland, Oregon at the end of the month.

The German tennis federation (DTB) said on Thursday that they would not be officially protesting to the ITF because there can be "no concrete suspicions that Tommy Haas has been poisoned".

The DTB said in a statement: "We have been as surprised as the public and are shocked because those are severe accusations.

"Davis Cup team doctor Erich Rembeck told us that from a medical point of view there are no concrete suspicions that Tommy Haas has been poisoned.

"Extensive blood and stool tests revealed no signs of a threat or endangering. To undergo those tests, Haas traveled to Munich one week after the games in Moscow.

"Because we have no medical proof of a poisoning and we don't know who and how reliable the Russian informant is, at the time being we don't assume that Tommy Haas has been poisoned."

But Haas, who lives in the United States, is not satisfied and told Bild: "Now I want to know whether it was a poisoning and can prove it."

The ITF's executive director of Davis Cup, Bill Babcock, will lead the investigation and if there is a case to be pursued it will be referred to the Davis Cup committee.

The invesigation comes as men's tennis is under the spotlight in the wake of the claims of irregular betting and match-fixing.

Last week former world number one and five-times grand slam winner Martina Hingis quit the sport after testing positive for cocaine, which she denies taking. E-mail to a friend