But because he tested positive at Wimbledon six months later, he escaped with a slap on the wrist which has allowed him to defend the title he won in Melbourne.

The reason, quite simply, was when Korda won his first Grand Slam title on February 1, 1998, the ITF's rules stated that any player who tested positive for steroids would face a mandatory one-year ban.

But by the time the tennis circuit had moved to the All-England Club in South-West London in July, a clause had been inserted which gave players who test positive for drugs a chance to present a case for a more lenient sentence, providing they can demonstrate ``exceptional circumstances'' as to why they returned a positive sample.

Korda, who began his title defence yesterday, escaped because of the new clause after telling the appeals committee that hedid not know how the drug got into his system.

He also provided character references from former World Number one Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg's former coach Tony Pickard.