13. 11. 09. - 16:00

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13. 11. 09. - 16:00

Becker says manager Ion Tiriac kept him from using drugs in tennis

Romanian Times

German tennis legend Boris Becker said he couldn't have imagined ever taking drugs in tennis because of his Romanian manager Ion Tiriac.

Becker commented on Andre Agassi's confessions in his autbiographical book "Open".

Becker said: "I was never offered drugs when I was on the tour. I didn’t hang around with those sorts of people. When I was a young player, my manager Ion Tiriac used to give me a scary look if there was even a beer on the table."

Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase is asking US tennis star Andre Agassi to give up all his titles because he cheated in tennis.

The move comes following Agassi's confessions in his autobiography "Open," which will be launched this week. It contains references to legendary Romanian tennis player Nastase, according to quotes from the book published by The Observer.

Agassi calls Nastase the "big, stupid Romanian", as the young Agassi had felt wounded by him.

Nastase said earlier this week in an interview in Romanian daily Gandul: "He should be the one to regret a lot of things, not only that he doped. If he didn’t like tennis, why doesn’t he renounce at all his titles? Anyway, it’s clear to me that Agassi cheated in tennis. I may have been crazy, but I was never stupid."

Agassi shocked the world by his confession in his autobiography as he admitted having used crystal meth in 1997 and lied to tennis authorities after failing a drug test.

He asked for compassion in a TV interview and said he had never played while high.

Agassi, one of the most-popular tennis players, won eight Grand Slam singles titles before retiring in 2006.

Inflation reaches two-years high
Romania's annual inflation in August rocketed to 7.58 per cent, the highest figure in the last two years, the National Statistics Institute (INS) said today (Fri).

FDI drops by a third
Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Romania dropped by 36 per cent to 1.9 billion Euros in the first seven months of this year, the central bank said today (Fri).

ING to invest 250mn Euros in regional centre in Transylvania
ING Group is to invest 250 million Euros in the following ten years, for the development of the newly opened regional services centre, in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, company officials have announced.

Pharma market boosted in Q2
The pharma market in Romania registered a boost in the second quarter of this year, a report by marketing and sales reports company Cegedim showed yesterday (Thurs).

Romanian TV boss arrested
The owner of TV channel Realitatea TV, Sorin Ovidiu Vintu, and two other people have been put under preventive arrest for 29 days.

Eric Besson: There is no competition between France and Romania
French Immigration minister, Eric Besson, said yesterday (Thurs), during his visit to Bucharest, that there was "no competition" between France and Romania.

Austrian motorist dies in Romania
An Austrian motorist has died while on holiday in southern Romania, according to local press reports.

Cocaine found in shipped party game
A Romanian tried to smuggle almost one kilo of cocaine into Austria from Costa Rica hid in a party game, the Austrian Times has reported today.

Romanian company bosses, last in income rankings
Romanian company bosses have been identified as bottom lights in a European comparison made by Vienna-based business consulting agency Kienbaum Management Consultants, the Austrian Times has reported today.

Romania tries to cover medical-personnel deficit
After the departure of thousands of doctors and nurses from Romanian hospitals for salaries up to ten times higher abroad, leaving a deserted medical system in Romania, the Health Ministry has finally announced new hires in the sector.