Canas tells paper ATP investigating failed doping test

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentine tennis player Guillermo Canas said in a newspaper interview that he is under investigation by the ATP Tour for a positive doping test.

The world's eighth-ranked player said in Wednesday's edition of the Clarin newspaper that he didn't knowingly take any banned substance and expects to be cleared.

"I trust in the system," Canas said. "I hope this is just a mistake and nothing more."

Clarin said the ATP was analyzing traces of a diuretic found in Canas' doping test at a tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, in February.

An ATP spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

The 27-year-old Canas also told Clarin he has decided to pull out of next month's Davis Cup matches against Australia because of the ATP probe, as well as a hand injury.

Canas is currently Argentina's top-ranked player, above Mariano Puerta, Guillermo Coria and Gaston Gaudio.

Canas, a quarterfinalist at the French Open, pulled out of Wimbledon last week after reaching the semifinals at Halle, Germany, where he lost to Marat Safin. He had been seeded No. 7 for Wimbledon.

Puerta, who reached the final at the French Open, recently returned from a nine-month doping suspension after testing positive for clenbuterol, a drug whose effects resemble those of anabolic steroids by promoting muscle growth.

Coria and Juan Ignacio Chela have also tested positive for banned substances. Chela was suspended for three months, Coria for seven.