I'm not locker-room drugs spy, says Odesnik

Wayne Odesnik, who served a doping ban after being caught in possession of human growth hormone (HGH), insisted on Wednesday that he did not agree to become a locker-room spy in exchange for clemency.

The 26-year-old American was suspended for two years after HGH was discovered in his luggage when he entered Australia in 2010.

But he controversially had his ban cut in half by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), a move which sparked allegations that he had agreed to spy on his fellow professionals.

"I would like each and every single one of you to jot this down in capital letters, I would 100 percent never say anything bad about a player or do something that I was a spy," said Odesnik.

"That is utterly 100 percent false. I don't know where you guys started this rumour or where you heard it from, but I think that needs to be clarified."

Odesnik was speaking after losing to Germnay's Bjorn Phau in the Wimbledon first round on Wednesday.

He insisted that he had been honest with the ITF and that the decision to cut his sentence was a reward for his co-operation in the investigation.

"I explained to them why I had the medication. I proved to them medical information of why I had it, and for that I was 100 percent honest with them. I never tried to lie to them," said the Johannesburg-born player.

"I was completely honest with them, and therefore, they understood the reasoning why I had it and they reduced my sentence."